Bypolls to be Held in 15 Seats Across 4 States on Wednesday

New Delhi: Bypolls for 15 assembly seats in Uttar Presh, Punjab , Kerala , and Uttarakhand will take place on Wednesday, with votes being counted on November 23. However, results will not directly affect composition of respective legislative assemblies.

In Uttar Presh, voting will take place in Katehari, Karhal, Meerapur, Ghaziab, Majhawan, Sisamau, Khair, Phulpur, and Kundarki. A total of 90 candidates are contesting se seats, with highest number of 14 candidates in Ghaziab.

This will be first electoral test for both INDIA bloc and NDA in politically crucial state of Uttar Presh since Lok Sabha elections.

In 2022 assembly polls, Sisamau, Katehari, Karhal and Kundarki were won by SP, while BJP won Phulpur, Ghaziab, Majhawan and Khair. Meerapur seat was won by BJP ally RLD.

Bypolls will also be held in four assembly seats -- ”Gidderbaha, Dera Baba Nanak, Chabbewal (SC) and Barnala -- in Punjab.

bypolls were necessitated after MLAs representing m were elected to Lok Sabha. Of four assembly segments, Gidderbaha, Dera Baba Nanak and Chabbewal were earlier held by Congress , and Barnala seat by AAP.

Forty-five candidates, including three women, are in fray. A total of 6.96 lakh voters are eligible to exercise ir franchise.

bypolls will determine fate of key candidates, including BJP's Manpreet Singh Bal (former Punjab finance minister), Congress's Amrita Warring, Jatinder Kaur, AAP's Hardeep Singh Dimpy Dhillon, Dr. Ishank Kumar Chabbewal, and BJP's Kewal Singh Dhillon, Sohan Singh Thandal, and Ravikaran Singh Kahlon.

Amrita Warring is wife of Punjab Congress chief and Ludhiana MP Amrinder Singh Raja Warring. Jatinder Kaur is spouse of Gurdaspur MP and former Punjab deputy chief minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa.

Polling will also be held for Palakk seat in Kerala and Kedarnath in Uttarakhand.

bypoll in Palakk was necessitated after Congress MLA of constituency, Shafi Parambil, got elected to Lok Sabha from Vakara constituency.

Kedarnath seat fell vacant after death of sitting BJP MLA Shailarani Rawat in July. Both candidates, BJP's Asha Nautiyal and Manoj Rawat of Congress, have represented Kedarnath assembly seat in past.

Nautiyal won it in 2002 and 2007 as a BJP candidate. Shaila Rani Rawat won it in 2012 on a Congress ticket. She contested seat as a BJP nominee in 2017 and lost to Manoj Rawat. However, she wrested seat from Rawat in 2022.

A total of 90,540 voters, including 45,775 women, in constituency are eligible to exercise ir franchise.

(with agency inputs)