NDA v/s INDIA as 13 assembly seats in 7 states go for bypolls today.

On Wednesday, July 10, India will be witness to by-elections in 13 assembly constituencies across seven states. This electoral contest will pit the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) against the Opposition’s INDIA bloc, as each side seeks to gain ground in the first electoral test since the Lok Sabha elections. The by-elections, necessitated by either deaths or resignations of sitting members, represent a crucial opportunity for both sides to gauge the public mood and position themselves for future battles.

In this round of by-elections, 13 constituencies across 7 states are set to hold polls, with Rupauli in Bihar, Raiganj, Ranaghat Dakshin, Bagdah, and Maniktala in West Bengal, Vikravandi in Tamil Nadu, Amarwara in Madhya Pradesh, Badrinath and Manglaur in Uttarakhand, Jalandhar West in Punjab, and Dehra, Hamirpur, and Nalagarh in Himachal Pradesh going to vote. Followed by the result announcement on July 13.

With the upcoming by-elections in West Bengal, all eyes are set on the four assembly seats, where the battle is poised to be intense. Three of the seats were vacated by BJP MLAs who switched to the Trinamool Congress (TMC), giving the TMC an edge. However, the BJP is not ready to back down and is hoping to capitalise on its strong showing in the Lok Sabha elections in these segments. The TMC, buoyed by its recent electoral victories, is betting on its track record. 

TMC leader Kunal Ghosh exuded confidence and stated, “We are certain of our victory in all four seats. The people of Bengal have already rejected the BJP in the Lok Sabha polls, and we expect the same outcome in these by-elections.” 

Himachal Pradesh has emerged as a key battleground in the upcoming by-elections, with three assembly seats up. The seats fell vacant after three independent MLAs joined the BJP, leading to intense campaigning from both the ruling Congress and the BJP. With 38 MLAs in its fold, the Congress holds a slender majority in the state assembly, while the BJP is keen to close the gap with its current tally of 27.

 Amidst the high-stake contest, all attention is focused on Dehra, where the ruling Congress party has fielded Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu’s wife, Kamlesh Thakur, as their candidate. While the BJP has predicted a significant impact of these by-elections on the state’s politics, the outcome is unlikely to significantly destabilise the Congress government, which enjoys a majority in the state assembly with 38 MLAs. 

In the spiritual heartland of Uttarakhand, Badrinath and Manglaur, two assembly seats, are set to undergo by-elections. In Badrinath, which houses one of the revered Char Dham shrines, former Congress MLA Rajendra Bhandari, now a BJP member, is facing off against the Congress’ Lakhpat Butola, who previously served as district panchayat president. The election dynamics in Manglaur, a Muslim-majority constituency, are equally intriguing, as the Congress fields Qazi Nizamuddin against the BJP’s Kartar Singh Bhadana.

The Rupauli Assembly constituency in Bihar is set for a by-election, arising from the resignation of sitting JD(U) MLA Bima Bharti, who then switched over to the RJD to contest, albeit unsuccessfully, for the Purnia Lok Sabha seat. The by-election sees Bima Bharti, a five-time MLA from Rupauli, run on an RJD ticket, while the JD(U) has fielded Kaladhar Mandal, both representing the Gangota community, which forms the majority of the population in this constituency. 

The assembly constituency of Amarwara in Madhya Pradesh is set for a high-stakes battle between the two dominant forces in the state, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Indian National Congress (INC). The fight is expected to be keenly contested, given that Amarwara has traditionally been viewed as a bastion of the INC veteran and former Chief Minister, Kamal Nath. While the BJP has chosen Kamlesh Shah as its candidate, the INC has nominated Dheeran Shah Invati, keeping in mind the largely tribal population of the constituency.

The high-stakes by-election in Punjab’s Jalandhar West assembly seat is poised to serve as a crucial test for the state’s Chief Minister, Bhagwant Mann, in the aftermath of the AAP’s disappointing performance in the Lok Sabha polls. The Jalandhar West assembly seat was vacated after AAP legislator Sheetal Angural resigned.

A by-election in Tamil Nadu’s Vikravandi assembly seat has been triggered by the death of sitting DMK MLA N Pugazhenthi. The contest promises to be an intriguing three-way fight between the ruling DMK, the PMK, a constituent of the NDA coalition, and the Naam Tamilar Katchi (NTK). The AIADMK, a key opposition party in the state, has decided to stay out of the electoral fray, leaving the field open for the other three contenders.