The counting of votes will take place on November 6. (File)New Delhi: By-elections to seven assembly constituencies spread across six states were held on Thursday with the voter turnout ranging from 31.74 per cent in Andheri (East) of Maharashtra to 77.55 per cent in Telangana's Munugode seat.Till last reports came in, the polling percentages in the five other seats were Mokama (53.45) and Gopalganj (51.48) of Bihar, Adampur (75.25) of Haryana, Gola Gokarannath (55.68) of Uttar Pradesh, and Dhamnagar (66.63) of Odisha. These figures are likely to change.Officials said the bypolls were by and large peaceful barring some minor incidents.Among the seven seats where bypolls are being held, the BJP held three seats and the Congress two, while the Shiv Sena and the RJD had one each. The contest is symbolic of the fierce turf war between the BJP and the regional parties.For the bypolls in Bihar, the main contest is between the BJP and the RJD, and the saffron party's main contenders in Haryana are the Congress, INLD and the AAP. In Telangana, Uttar Pradesh and Odisha, the main contests are between the BJP and the TRS, SP and the BJD respectively.While a victory in the bypolls will be inconsequential to their position in the assemblies, the parties have not taken the contest lightly and carried out a high-pitched campaign.The counting of votes will take place on November 6.In Uttar Pradesh, the Samajwadi Party alleged that some polling centres were captured by workers of the ruling BJP. However, District Magistrate Mahendra Bahadur Singh ruled out the allegations, saying he personally visited the polling centres but found no such thing.Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav alleged that police unnecessarily indulged in baton charge at some booths disrupting voting and at some places SP and Muslim voters were driven away. He also demanded an investigation into "why a BJP MLA kept roaming around with envelopes full of money in their car".There were reports of clashes between BJD and BJP in two polling booths in Odisha's Rameswarpur when voting was underway, resulting in injuries to two persons.The BJP is seeking to retain the Gola Gokarannath seat in Uttar Pradesh and Dhamnagar in the BJD-ruled Odisha, banking on sympathy votes as it has fielded the sons of sitting MLAs whose death necessitated the bypolls.The BJP and the ruling TRS had been campaigning aggressively in Munugode in Telangana, where the Congress MLA had resigned and is fighting on the saffron party's ticket.The Election Commission made elaborate arrangements for polling, including the deployment of 3,366 state police and 15 companies of central security personnel in Munugode. Webcasting was done from all the polling stations, officials said.In Adampur, the by-election was necessitated after former chief minister Bhajan Lal's younger son Kuldeep Bishnoi resigned as MLA from the seat and switched from the Congress to the BJP in August. Bishnoi's son Bhavya is now contesting as the BJP candidate.The Adampur seat has been held by the Bhajan Lal family since 1968, with the late ex-chief minister representing it on nine occasions, his wife Jasma Devi once, and Kuldeep on four occasions.The Congress, Indian National Lok Dal, and Aam Aadmi Party are among the key parties contesting the bypolls.The Congress fielded former Union minister Jai Prakash, a three-time MP from Hisar and two-time MLA, as well.The INLD picked Congress rebel Kurda Ram Nambardar as its candidate. The AAP fielded Satender Singh, who switched over from the BJP.Bihar saw the first electoral test for the Nitish Kumar-led 'Mahagathbandhan' government, formed less than three months ago after the JD(U) parted ways with the BJP.The Mokama and Gopalganj seats in Bihar were earlier held by the RJD and the BJP respectively.The BJP is contesting from the Mokama constituency for the first time as the saffron party had, on previous occasions, left the seat to its allies. Both the BJP and the RJD have fielded the wives of local musclemen in the bypolls.BJP nominee Sonam Devi is up against RJD's Neelam Devi, whose husband Anant Singh's disqualification has necessitated the by-election.Mokama is the stronghold of Anant Singh since 2005. He won the seat twice on JD(U) tickets and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has appealed to voters to support him.Sonam Devi, the wife of local muscleman Lalan Singh who has been opposed to Anant Singh, is a greenhorn. Lalan is known to be a confidant of Suraj Bhan Singh, a dreaded gangster-turned-politician, who in the 2000 assembly election defeated Anant Singh's elder brother Dilip Singh who was a minister in the Rabri Devi government.In Gopalganj, BJP fielded Kusum Devi, the wife of deceased party MLA Subhash Singh. The RJD fielded Mohan Gupta, while Indira Yadav, wife of Lalu Yadav's brother-in-law Sadhu Yadav, is contesting as Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) candidate.Shiv Sena's Rutuja Latke is expected to comfortably win Andheri East Assembly constituency in Mumbai after the BJP withdrew from the contest which is the first after the recent split in the Shiv Sena following a rebellion by Eknath Shinde, who replaced Thackeray as the Maharashtra chief minister.The NCP and Congress have supported her candidature.The by-election was necessitated due to the death of Latke's husband and Shiv Sena MLA Ramesh Latke in May.The Gola Gokarannath seat in Uttar Pradesh fell vacant after the death of BJP MLA Arvind Giri on September 6. With the BSP and the Congress keeping away from the bypolls, there seems to be a direct fight between the BJP and the Samajwadi Party.The BJP has fielded Aman Giri, son of Arvind Giri, while the SP candidate is former Gola MLA Vinay Tiwari.The BJD has fielded Abanti Das, the lone woman among the total five candidates in Dhamnagar. BJP MLA Bishnu Charan Sethi's death necessitated the bypoll. The saffron party, banking on sympathy votes, has fielded Sethi's son Suryabanshi Suraj.PromotedListen to the latest songs, only on JioSaavn.comThe BJD's official candidate is facing a rebel as its former MLA Rajendra Das is in the fray as an Independent.(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)Featured Video Of The DayWatch: The Moment Imran Khan Was Attacked At Pak Rally
The counting of votes will take place on November 6.New Delhi: Voting was held today in the by-election to seven assembly constituencies in six states - a contest symbolic of the fierce turf war between the BJP and regional parties.Polling was in Mokama and Gopalganj assembly constituencies of Bihar, Andheri (East) of Maharashtra, Adampur of Haryana, Munugode of Telangana, Gola Gorakhnath of Uttar Pradesh, and Dhamnagar of Odisha. Here are the Highlights on the bypolls:Get NDTV UpdatesTurn on notifications to receive alerts as this story develops.Nov 03, 2022 15:54 (IST)Maharashtra Bypoll, Andheri, Uddhav Shiv Sena: First on new symbol, has symbolic valueBypoll voting today: Uddhav Thackeray's faction sees BJP's withdrawal as part of "a script to save face" ahead of the election for the Brihanmumbai Municipal CorporationNov 03, 2022 15:22 (IST)Andheri East Assembly bypoll: Nearly 17% voter turnout recorded till 1 pmA voter turnout of 16.89 per cent was recorded in the Andheri East Assembly byelection in Mumbai till 1 pm on Thursday, an official said.Polling for the byelection, which started at 7 am, will continue till 6 pm. The process is underway at 256 polling booths in the constituency.Nov 03, 2022 14:31 (IST)38.75% Turnout At Dhamnagar Till 1 PM, 2 Injured In ClashA total 38.75 per cent voters cast their votes in the Dhamnagar assembly by-poll till 1 pm on Thursday, an Election Commission official said.Despite the strict security for the day, there were reports of clashes between BJD and BJP workers in polling booths 169 and 170 at Rameswarpur in the constituency while voting was on and two persons were injured.The local police said the clash occurred when workers of one party tried to put up posters inside the prohibited 100 m distance from the polling booth and were resisted by supporters of the other party.A case was registered at the local police station on the basis of allegations of the two sides and the injured were taken to a nearby hospital, the police said.Nov 03, 2022 13:55 (IST)31.90% Voter Turnout Recorded Till 11 AM In Bihar BypollA voter turnout of 31.90 per cent was recorded till 1 pm in Mokama and Gopalganj assembly constituencies in Bihar where polling was underway for by-elections on Thursday, officials said.While Mokama recorded 34.26 per cent voter turnout, Gopalganj saw 29.90 per cent turnout till 1 pm, they said.The bypolls to the two seats are the first election in the state after the formation of the 'Mahagthabandhan' government around three months back. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, the de-facto leader of the JD(U), dumped the BJP and formed a new coalition government with the RJD, Congress and Left parties in early August.The polling began at 7 am, and will continue till 6 pm, election officials said.Nov 03, 2022 12:47 (IST)Over 25% Polling In Munugode Till 11 AMOver 25 per cent polling was reported till 11 AM in the by-poll to the Munugode Assembly constituency in Telangana on Thursday.The polling had been peaceful with no major law and order issue being reported.Officials rectified technical issues in EVMs at a couple of places.Nov 03, 2022 12:46 (IST)Gujarat Polls : Gujarat Votes On December 1, 5; Result On 8th Along With Himachal'sThe high-voltage Assembly election in Gujarat will be held in two phases, on December 1 and December 5, the Election Commission announced today.Nov 03, 2022 12:18 (IST)Adampur Bypoll: 22.51 Per Cent Votes Polled Till 11 AMA poll percentage of 22.51 was recorded in the first four hours after polling began in Haryana's Adampur Assembly segment where bypolls are underway on Thursday.The outcome of the bypoll will decide if the Bhajan Lal family will retain the family bastion of five decades.Polling began at 7 am and will continue till 6 pm. Nearly 1.71 lakh voters are eligible to cast their votes. Counting of votes will be taken up on November 6.A poll percentage of 22.51 was recorded as of 11 am, according to Election Commission of India data.Nov 03, 2022 12:16 (IST)#JustIn | "We are deputing one additional special observer at polling stations for accessibility and inclusion": Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar #AssemblyElections2022#ElectionsWithNDTVpic.twitter.com/uA7SKq62V6- NDTV (@ndtv) November 3, 2022Nov 03, 2022 12:16 (IST)#GujaratElections2022 | Total electors: 4.90 crore Male: 2.53 croreFemale: 2.37 crore Third Gender: 1,417#ElectionsWithNDTV- NDTV (@ndtv) November 3, 2022Nov 03, 2022 12:15 (IST)22.36 Per Cent Votes Cast Till 11 AM In Dhamnagar A total 22.36 per cent votes were cast till 11 am in the by-poll being held in Dhamnagar assembly seat on Thursday, an EC official said.Election in the rural constituency is being held under tight security and long queues were seen in front of the polling stations even before voting began at 7 am."Voting is underway in all the 252 polling stations of the constituencies," he said. A 110 booths have been declared as sensitive and there will be webcasting in 126 booths. Some initial EVM glitches were reported and were immediately solved, he said.Nov 03, 2022 11:55 (IST)24.17% Voter Turnout In Bihar Bypolls Till 11 AMA voter turnout of 24.17 per cent was recorded till 11 am in Mokama and Gopalganj assembly constituencies in Bihar where polling was underway for by-elections on Thursday, officials said.While Mokama recorded 27.30 per cent voter turnout, Gopalganj saw 21.76 per cent turnout till 11 am, they said.Long queues were seen outside many booths as people turned up early to exercise their franchise, officials said.The bypolls to the two seats are the first election in the state after the formation of the 'Mahagthabandhan' government around three months back. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, the de-facto leader of the JD(U), dumped the BJP and formed a new coalition government with the RJD, Congress and Left parties in early August.Nov 03, 2022 11:36 (IST)Over 23 Per Cent Votes Polled Till 11 AM, Samajwadi Party Alleges Booth Capture By BJPAn average voter turnout of over 23 per cent has been recorded in the first two hours of polling in the Gola Gokarannath constituency of Uttar Pradesh where bypolls are underway on Thursday.While a senior official said voting was going on peacefully, the Samajwadi Party (SP) alleged that some polling centres have been captured by workers of the ruling BJP."Polling centres in Lalahapur, Madanpur and Lakshmanjati in Gola Gokarannath assembly have been captured by BJP workers. SP voters, booth in-charges and agents have been driven away. The Election Commission should take cognisance of this and ensure fair polls," the SP tweeted in Hindi.The senior official said, "Polling is going on peacefully. In the initial four hours, 23.56 per cent votes were polled." Over 3.90 lakh voters are eligible to decide the fate of seven contestants in the fray. Polling started at 7 am and will end at 6 pm.Nov 03, 2022 11:34 (IST)10.25 Per Cent Polling In First 2 Hours In Dhamnagar BypollAn average 10.25 per cent votes cast in the first two hours of polling in Odisha's Dhamnagar assembly constituency, where the by-election exercise began at 7 am on Thursday, an EC official said.Long queues were seen in front of the polling stations even before the voting started.The voting process, which is being held under tight security, will continue till 6 PM."An average 10,25 per cent polling was witnessed in the by-poll for Dhamnagar assembly segment in the first two hours from 7 am. Voting is underway in all the 252 polling stations," an Election Commission official said.Nov 03, 2022 10:24 (IST)Gokarannath Bypoll: Over 10 Per Cent Votes Polled In First Two HoursAn average voter turnout of over 10 per cent has been recorded in the first two hours of polling in Gola Gokarannath constituency of Uttar Pradesh where bypolls are underway on Thursday."The polling is going on peacefully. In the initial two hours, over 10 per cent votes were polled", a senior official said here.Over 3.90 lakh voters are eligible to decide the fate of seven contestants in the fray.The polling started at 7 am and will end at 6 pm.The bypoll was necessitated due to the death of BJP MLA Arvind Giri on September 6.Nov 03, 2022 10:17 (IST)#ElectionsWithNDTV | Polling Begins In Seven Constituencies In Six States https://t.co/GA7mdSFLShNDTV's Sohit Mishra and Manish Kumar report pic.twitter.com/Qaj5UksyNJ- NDTV (@ndtv) November 3, 2022Nov 03, 2022 08:53 (IST)Voting Begins For Andheri (East) Assembly By-ElectionPolling started for by-election to the Andheri East Assembly constituency here at 7 am on Thursday.This is the first Assembly election in Maharashtra after the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government collapsed in June following a revolt by Shiv Sena MLAs led by Eknath Shinde.Shinde subsequently became chief minister in alliance with the BJP.Rutuja Latke, the candidate of the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena, is expected to win comfortably in the by-election after the BJP withdrew its nominee.Nov 03, 2022 08:46 (IST)Odisha | People cast their votes for the #DhamnagarBypoll; visuals from polling booth number 8Voting is underway for assembly by-elections in seven vacant seats across six states. pic.twitter.com/Kc41sXNlqi- ANI (@ANI) November 3, 2022Nov 03, 2022 08:15 (IST)Telangana's Munugode Bypoll Will Be Most-watched: Chief Electoral OfficerIn exclusive chat with NDTV, Telangana's Chief Electoral Officer Vikas Raj says they have made special arrangements in Munugode that will make it the most-watched election ever, with CCTVs deployed around the constituency and also webcasting from every poll booth, monitored at the district, state and central levels.Nov 03, 2022 08:10 (IST)Telangana | People queue up to cast their votes for Munugodu by-elections; visuals from Tangadapally polling station in Munugodu Assembly Constituency pic.twitter.com/WDejl6nhhv- ANI (@ANI) November 3, 2022Nov 03, 2022 08:06 (IST)Uttar Pradesh | People cast their votes at Guru Nanak Girls Inter College polling booth for Gola Gokarannath by-elections pic.twitter.com/muIjlt35N0- ANI UP/Uttarakhand (@ANINewsUP) November 3, 2022Nov 03, 2022 08:01 (IST)#Bihar | People cast their votes for the by-elections in Mokama Assembly Constituency; visuals from polling booth number 3. | reported by news agency ANI pic.twitter.com/Y7sylfYAza- NDTV (@ndtv) November 3, 2022Nov 03, 2022 08:00 (IST)Gujarat Election : Gujarat Election Dates To Be Announced At Noon TodayThe dates for the Gujarat Assembly election will be announced by the Election Commission at noon today.Nov 03, 2022 07:56 (IST)Election Commission To Announce Gujarat Poll Schedule TodayThe Election Commission will announce the schedule for the Gujarat assembly polls at 12 noon on Thursday. The poll panel has convened a press conference to announce the schedule.The term of Gujarat assembly ends on February 18 next year. Nov 03, 2022 07:48 (IST)Telangana BJP President Bandi Sanjay DetainedTelangana BJP president Bandi Sanjay staged a protest demanding that non-locals and TRS leaders should be sent out of the Munugodu constituency, where the bypolls are being conducted today.Mr Sanjay, who was on the way to Munugode as Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) leaders were not leaving the by-polls constituency in Munugodu, was stopped by the police on the Vijaywada Highway in Abdullapurmet on Wednesday night.Initially, police stopped Bandi Sanjay's convoy at Malakpet then at Vanasthalipuram and finally, he was shifted to Abdullapurmet Police Station.Nov 03, 2022 07:37 (IST)Polling Underway In Telangana's Munugode Polling was underway amid tight security in the bypoll to Munugode Assembly constituency in Telangana on Thursday. Voting began at 7 am and will continue till 6 am.Over 2.41 lakh voters are eligible to cast their votes in the bypoll.Nov 03, 2022 07:31 (IST)Polling Begins For Adampur Bypoll In HaryanaPolling began on Thursday for bypolls in Haryana's Adampur assembly constituency, whose outcome will decide if the Bhajan Lal family holds on to its bastion of five decades.Polling began at 7 am and will continue till 6 pm. Nearly 1.71 lakh voters are eligible to cast vote. Counting of votes will be taken up on November 6.Twenty-two candidates, all men, are in the fray. The main parties contesting are the BJP, Congress, Indian National Lok Dal, and the Aam Aadmi Party.Nov 03, 2022 07:24 (IST)Polling Begins For Dhamnagar By-Election In OdishaPolling began on Thursday morning for by-election to the Dhamnagar assembly constituency in Odisha amid tight security, officials said.The voting began in all the 252 polling stations of the constituency in Bhadrak district at 7 am, and will continue till 6 pm, they said.A total of 2.38 lakh voters -- 1.23 lakh males and 1.15 lakh females -- are eligible to exercise their franchise in this election.Nov 03, 2022 07:21 (IST)Polling Begins For Mokama, Gopalganj By-Elections In BiharPolling began on Thursday morning for by-elections to the Mokama and Gopalganj assembly constituencies in Bihar under tight security, officials said.The by-polls to the two seats are the first election in the state after the formation of the 'Mahagthabandhan' government around three months back. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, the de-facto leader of the JD(U), dumped the BJP and formed a new coalition government with the RJD, Congress and Left parties in early August.The polling began at 7 am, and will continue till 6 pm, election officials said.Nov 03, 2022 07:20 (IST)BJP leader Kuldeep Bishnoi casts his vote for Assembly by-elections in Haryana's Adampur Assembly ConstituencyVoting for Assembly by-elections in seven vacant seats across six states has begun. pic.twitter.com/c8S37v08A4- ANI (@ANI) November 3, 2022Nov 03, 2022 07:19 (IST)Telangana, Bihar, Haryana Among Big Bypoll Battles Today: 10 PointsIn contests symbolic of the fierce turf war between the BJP and regional parties, seven assembly constituencies in six states will elect new legislators in bypolls on Thursday, with Telangana and Bihar hosting two of the more closely watched clashes.Featured Video Of The Day'Have Received Endless Love From Gujarat': AAP's Chief Minister Candidate
The counting of votes will take place on November 6.New Delhi: Voting began on Thursday in the by-election to seven assembly constituencies in six states - a contest symbolic of the fierce turf war between the BJP and regional parties.The polling is being held in Mokama and Gopalganj assembly constituencies of Bihar, Andheri (East) of Maharashtra, Adampur of Haryana, Munugode of Telangana, Gola Gorakhnath of Uttar Pradesh, and Dhamnagar of Odisha. Here are the LIVE updates on the bypolls:Get NDTV UpdatesTurn on notifications to receive alerts as this story develops.Nov 03, 2022 15:22 (IST)Andheri East Assembly bypoll: Nearly 17% voter turnout recorded till 1 pmA voter turnout of 16.89 per cent was recorded in the Andheri East Assembly byelection in Mumbai till 1 pm on Thursday, an official said.Polling for the byelection, which started at 7 am, will continue till 6 pm. The process is underway at 256 polling booths in the constituency.Nov 03, 2022 14:31 (IST)38.75% Turnout At Dhamnagar Till 1 PM, 2 Injured In ClashA total 38.75 per cent voters cast their votes in the Dhamnagar assembly by-poll till 1 pm on Thursday, an Election Commission official said.Despite the strict security for the day, there were reports of clashes between BJD and BJP workers in polling booths 169 and 170 at Rameswarpur in the constituency while voting was on and two persons were injured.The local police said the clash occurred when workers of one party tried to put up posters inside the prohibited 100 m distance from the polling booth and were resisted by supporters of the other party.A case was registered at the local police station on the basis of allegations of the two sides and the injured were taken to a nearby hospital, the police said.Nov 03, 2022 13:55 (IST)31.90% Voter Turnout Recorded Till 11 AM In Bihar BypollA voter turnout of 31.90 per cent was recorded till 1 pm in Mokama and Gopalganj assembly constituencies in Bihar where polling was underway for by-elections on Thursday, officials said.While Mokama recorded 34.26 per cent voter turnout, Gopalganj saw 29.90 per cent turnout till 1 pm, they said.The bypolls to the two seats are the first election in the state after the formation of the 'Mahagthabandhan' government around three months back. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, the de-facto leader of the JD(U), dumped the BJP and formed a new coalition government with the RJD, Congress and Left parties in early August.The polling began at 7 am, and will continue till 6 pm, election officials said.Nov 03, 2022 12:47 (IST)Over 25% Polling In Munugode Till 11 AMOver 25 per cent polling was reported till 11 AM in the by-poll to the Munugode Assembly constituency in Telangana on Thursday.The polling had been peaceful with no major law and order issue being reported.Officials rectified technical issues in EVMs at a couple of places.Nov 03, 2022 12:46 (IST)Gujarat Polls : Gujarat Votes On December 1, 5; Result On 8th Along With Himachal'sThe high-voltage Assembly election in Gujarat will be held in two phases, on December 1 and December 5, the Election Commission announced today.Nov 03, 2022 12:18 (IST)Adampur Bypoll: 22.51 Per Cent Votes Polled Till 11 AMA poll percentage of 22.51 was recorded in the first four hours after polling began in Haryana's Adampur Assembly segment where bypolls are underway on Thursday.The outcome of the bypoll will decide if the Bhajan Lal family will retain the family bastion of five decades.Polling began at 7 am and will continue till 6 pm. Nearly 1.71 lakh voters are eligible to cast their votes. Counting of votes will be taken up on November 6.A poll percentage of 22.51 was recorded as of 11 am, according to Election Commission of India data.Nov 03, 2022 12:16 (IST)#JustIn | "We are deputing one additional special observer at polling stations for accessibility and inclusion": Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar #AssemblyElections2022#ElectionsWithNDTVpic.twitter.com/uA7SKq62V6- NDTV (@ndtv) November 3, 2022Nov 03, 2022 12:16 (IST)#GujaratElections2022 | Total electors: 4.90 crore Male: 2.53 croreFemale: 2.37 crore Third Gender: 1,417#ElectionsWithNDTV- NDTV (@ndtv) November 3, 2022Nov 03, 2022 12:15 (IST)22.36 Per Cent Votes Cast Till 11 AM In Dhamnagar A total 22.36 per cent votes were cast till 11 am in the by-poll being held in Dhamnagar assembly seat on Thursday, an EC official said.Election in the rural constituency is being held under tight security and long queues were seen in front of the polling stations even before voting began at 7 am."Voting is underway in all the 252 polling stations of the constituencies," he said. A 110 booths have been declared as sensitive and there will be webcasting in 126 booths. Some initial EVM glitches were reported and were immediately solved, he said.Nov 03, 2022 11:55 (IST)24.17% Voter Turnout In Bihar Bypolls Till 11 AMA voter turnout of 24.17 per cent was recorded till 11 am in Mokama and Gopalganj assembly constituencies in Bihar where polling was underway for by-elections on Thursday, officials said.While Mokama recorded 27.30 per cent voter turnout, Gopalganj saw 21.76 per cent turnout till 11 am, they said.Long queues were seen outside many booths as people turned up early to exercise their franchise, officials said.The bypolls to the two seats are the first election in the state after the formation of the 'Mahagthabandhan' government around three months back. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, the de-facto leader of the JD(U), dumped the BJP and formed a new coalition government with the RJD, Congress and Left parties in early August.Nov 03, 2022 11:36 (IST)Over 23 Per Cent Votes Polled Till 11 AM, Samajwadi Party Alleges Booth Capture By BJPAn average voter turnout of over 23 per cent has been recorded in the first two hours of polling in the Gola Gokarannath constituency of Uttar Pradesh where bypolls are underway on Thursday.While a senior official said voting was going on peacefully, the Samajwadi Party (SP) alleged that some polling centres have been captured by workers of the ruling BJP."Polling centres in Lalahapur, Madanpur and Lakshmanjati in Gola Gokarannath assembly have been captured by BJP workers. SP voters, booth in-charges and agents have been driven away. The Election Commission should take cognisance of this and ensure fair polls," the SP tweeted in Hindi.The senior official said, "Polling is going on peacefully. In the initial four hours, 23.56 per cent votes were polled." Over 3.90 lakh voters are eligible to decide the fate of seven contestants in the fray. Polling started at 7 am and will end at 6 pm.Nov 03, 2022 11:34 (IST)10.25 Per Cent Polling In First 2 Hours In Dhamnagar BypollAn average 10.25 per cent votes cast in the first two hours of polling in Odisha's Dhamnagar assembly constituency, where the by-election exercise began at 7 am on Thursday, an EC official said.Long queues were seen in front of the polling stations even before the voting started.The voting process, which is being held under tight security, will continue till 6 PM."An average 10,25 per cent polling was witnessed in the by-poll for Dhamnagar assembly segment in the first two hours from 7 am. Voting is underway in all the 252 polling stations," an Election Commission official said.Nov 03, 2022 10:24 (IST)Gokarannath Bypoll: Over 10 Per Cent Votes Polled In First Two HoursAn average voter turnout of over 10 per cent has been recorded in the first two hours of polling in Gola Gokarannath constituency of Uttar Pradesh where bypolls are underway on Thursday."The polling is going on peacefully. In the initial two hours, over 10 per cent votes were polled", a senior official said here.Over 3.90 lakh voters are eligible to decide the fate of seven contestants in the fray.The polling started at 7 am and will end at 6 pm.The bypoll was necessitated due to the death of BJP MLA Arvind Giri on September 6.Nov 03, 2022 10:17 (IST)#ElectionsWithNDTV | Polling Begins In Seven Constituencies In Six States https://t.co/GA7mdSFLShNDTV's Sohit Mishra and Manish Kumar report pic.twitter.com/Qaj5UksyNJ- NDTV (@ndtv) November 3, 2022Nov 03, 2022 08:53 (IST)Voting Begins For Andheri (East) Assembly By-ElectionPolling started for by-election to the Andheri East Assembly constituency here at 7 am on Thursday.This is the first Assembly election in Maharashtra after the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government collapsed in June following a revolt by Shiv Sena MLAs led by Eknath Shinde.Shinde subsequently became chief minister in alliance with the BJP.Rutuja Latke, the candidate of the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena, is expected to win comfortably in the by-election after the BJP withdrew its nominee.Nov 03, 2022 08:46 (IST)Odisha | People cast their votes for the #DhamnagarBypoll; visuals from polling booth number 8Voting is underway for assembly by-elections in seven vacant seats across six states. pic.twitter.com/Kc41sXNlqi- ANI (@ANI) November 3, 2022Nov 03, 2022 08:15 (IST)Telangana's Munugode Bypoll Will Be Most-watched: Chief Electoral OfficerIn exclusive chat with NDTV, Telangana's Chief Electoral Officer Vikas Raj says they have made special arrangements in Munugode that will make it the most-watched election ever, with CCTVs deployed around the constituency and also webcasting from every poll booth, monitored at the district, state and central levels.Nov 03, 2022 08:10 (IST)Telangana | People queue up to cast their votes for Munugodu by-elections; visuals from Tangadapally polling station in Munugodu Assembly Constituency pic.twitter.com/WDejl6nhhv- ANI (@ANI) November 3, 2022Nov 03, 2022 08:06 (IST)Uttar Pradesh | People cast their votes at Guru Nanak Girls Inter College polling booth for Gola Gokarannath by-elections pic.twitter.com/muIjlt35N0- ANI UP/Uttarakhand (@ANINewsUP) November 3, 2022Nov 03, 2022 08:01 (IST)#Bihar | People cast their votes for the by-elections in Mokama Assembly Constituency; visuals from polling booth number 3. | reported by news agency ANI pic.twitter.com/Y7sylfYAza- NDTV (@ndtv) November 3, 2022Nov 03, 2022 08:00 (IST)Gujarat Election : Gujarat Election Dates To Be Announced At Noon TodayThe dates for the Gujarat Assembly election will be announced by the Election Commission at noon today.Nov 03, 2022 07:56 (IST)Election Commission To Announce Gujarat Poll Schedule TodayThe Election Commission will announce the schedule for the Gujarat assembly polls at 12 noon on Thursday. The poll panel has convened a press conference to announce the schedule.The term of Gujarat assembly ends on February 18 next year. Nov 03, 2022 07:48 (IST)Telangana BJP President Bandi Sanjay DetainedTelangana BJP president Bandi Sanjay staged a protest demanding that non-locals and TRS leaders should be sent out of the Munugodu constituency, where the bypolls are being conducted today.Mr Sanjay, who was on the way to Munugode as Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) leaders were not leaving the by-polls constituency in Munugodu, was stopped by the police on the Vijaywada Highway in Abdullapurmet on Wednesday night.Initially, police stopped Bandi Sanjay's convoy at Malakpet then at Vanasthalipuram and finally, he was shifted to Abdullapurmet Police Station.Nov 03, 2022 07:37 (IST)Polling Underway In Telangana's Munugode Polling was underway amid tight security in the bypoll to Munugode Assembly constituency in Telangana on Thursday. Voting began at 7 am and will continue till 6 am.Over 2.41 lakh voters are eligible to cast their votes in the bypoll.Nov 03, 2022 07:31 (IST)Polling Begins For Adampur Bypoll In HaryanaPolling began on Thursday for bypolls in Haryana's Adampur assembly constituency, whose outcome will decide if the Bhajan Lal family holds on to its bastion of five decades.Polling began at 7 am and will continue till 6 pm. Nearly 1.71 lakh voters are eligible to cast vote. Counting of votes will be taken up on November 6.Twenty-two candidates, all men, are in the fray. The main parties contesting are the BJP, Congress, Indian National Lok Dal, and the Aam Aadmi Party.Nov 03, 2022 07:24 (IST)Polling Begins For Dhamnagar By-Election In OdishaPolling began on Thursday morning for by-election to the Dhamnagar assembly constituency in Odisha amid tight security, officials said.The voting began in all the 252 polling stations of the constituency in Bhadrak district at 7 am, and will continue till 6 pm, they said.A total of 2.38 lakh voters -- 1.23 lakh males and 1.15 lakh females -- are eligible to exercise their franchise in this election.Nov 03, 2022 07:21 (IST)Polling Begins For Mokama, Gopalganj By-Elections In BiharPolling began on Thursday morning for by-elections to the Mokama and Gopalganj assembly constituencies in Bihar under tight security, officials said.The by-polls to the two seats are the first election in the state after the formation of the 'Mahagthabandhan' government around three months back. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, the de-facto leader of the JD(U), dumped the BJP and formed a new coalition government with the RJD, Congress and Left parties in early August.The polling began at 7 am, and will continue till 6 pm, election officials said.Nov 03, 2022 07:20 (IST)BJP leader Kuldeep Bishnoi casts his vote for Assembly by-elections in Haryana's Adampur Assembly ConstituencyVoting for Assembly by-elections in seven vacant seats across six states has begun. pic.twitter.com/c8S37v08A4- ANI (@ANI) November 3, 2022Nov 03, 2022 07:19 (IST)Telangana, Bihar, Haryana Among Big Bypoll Battles Today: 10 PointsIn contests symbolic of the fierce turf war between the BJP and regional parties, seven assembly constituencies in six states will elect new legislators in bypolls on Thursday, with Telangana and Bihar hosting two of the more closely watched clashes.Featured Video Of The DayGujarat Bridge Tragedy: Search Teams Mourn The Victims At Site
Election 2022: The results of the elections are set to be announced on Sunday.New Delhi: In contests symbolic of the fierce turf war between the BJP and regional parties, seven assembly constituencies in six states will elect new legislators in bypolls on Thursday, with Telangana and Bihar hosting two of the more closely watched clashes. Here is your 10-point guide to the by-elections today:Telangana has been primed for a high-stakes battle between the BJP and Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao's party TRS following allegations by the latter of attempts to poach its MLAs with eye-popping amounts of cash.The bypoll in Telangana's Manugode was called after the Congress MLA resigned and joined the BJP. The contest is largely between RK Rajagopal Reddy of the BJP, former MLA Kusukuntla Prabhakar Reddy of the TRS and Congress's Palvai Sravanthi.The TRS, recently renamed Bharat Rashtra Samiti (BRS), aims to demonstrate its dominance in state politics and go national with a big win. A loss would dampen not only its plans, but also embolden the opposition ahead of the assembly polls.Bihar will see the first electoral test for Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's latest "Grand Alliance", formed less than three months ago after his party ditched the BJP and partnered with Tejashwi Yadav's Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and the Congress. Bypolls in the state are being held in Mokama and Gopalganj, earlier held by the RJD and the BJP respectively.In Haryana's Adampur, former Chief Minister Bhajan Lal's family will be trying to hold on to its bastion of five decades after his younger son Kuldeep Bishnoi resigned as MLA from the seat and switched from the Congress to the BJP in August.Mr Bishnoi's son Bhavya is now contesting as a candidate for the ruling BJP against former Union Minister Jai Prakash, a three-time MP and two-time MLA, of the Congress.In a prestige battle, the BJP will hope to retain the Gola Gorakhnath seat in Uttar Pradesh, which fell vacant after the death of MLA Arvind Giri. With Mayawati's party BSP and the Congress staying out of the contest, the fight will be between the BJP and Akhilesh Yadav's Samajwadi Party.The BJP will also hope to retain Dhamnagar in Odisha, where the death of the party's MLA Bishnu Charan Sethi necessitated the by-poll. The son of the former MLA is running for the party against Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik's Biju Janata Dal which has strengthened its hold on the region since the last elections.In Maharashtra, the Uddhav Thackeray faction of the Shiv Sena is expected to comfortably win the Andheri East Assembly constituency in Mumbai after the BJP pulled out of the contest, which is the first after the party's recent split.While these by-elections are not expected to have any bearing on who governs the states, most parties have gone all-in on the campaigning to avoid a defeat in the prestige battles. The results of the elections are set to be announced on Sunday.Post a comment
By-election for seven assembly constituencies in six states namely Bihar, Maharashtra, Haryana, Telangana, UP and Odisha is underway and result will be out by November 6. Voting is under way in the by-election in Mokama and Gopalganj assembly constituencies of Bihar, Andheri (East) of Maharashtra, Adampur of Haryana, Munugode of Telangana, Gola Gokarannath of Uttar Pradesh, and Dhamnagar of Odisha.Among these seven states three are BJP turf where regional parties are seen giving tough competition. While, Congress hold two while the Shiv Sena and the RJD had one each.The BJP biggest challenge is to sustained the momentum from the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. The three states in which BJP is ruling party namely Haryana, UP and Maharashtra, the government is at stake — either as the single largest party or as a coalition partner.The opposition parties will try to dominate the election and break the government gauge. BJP has to come up as most credible party on the national political landscape.In today's bypolls at Andheri (E), Maharashtra pressure is high as it is the first major election in Maharashtra since the change of guard at Mantralaya and the "split" in the Shiv Sena.However, In a strategic step-back, BJP decides to skip Andheri polls and thus nullifying the contest between the two Sena factions. The BJP candidate (also supported by the Shinde faction) withdrew his nomination, giving a virtual walkover to Rutuja Latke of the Thackeray faction. But the Thackeray-led camp in Sena has also been alleging that its political opponents are trying to influence voters to choose NOTA.In Bihar too, this is the first major polls after the political "realignment" that saw JD(U) parting ways with the BJP and joining hands with RJD, Congress and some other parties to form a Grand Alliance government.In Mokama district RJD's Anant Singh convicted in a criminal case and has to leave the seat. The Grand Alliance has fielded his wife this time, to which BJP is trying to use the "criminal nexus" allegation and win the seat.Whereas in Gopalganj seat former BJP MLA Subhash Singh wife is running for the polls after his demise from BJP side and likely to win the by-polls.In Telangana after Komatireddy Raj Gopal Reddy quit the Congress and also as MLA in August, and joined the BJP the seat in Munugode seat was vacant. Congress, BJP and KCR's TRS all three major political parties are contesting the by-polls and giving high competition to each other.The Gola Gokrannath, UP the by-polls was necessitated after the death of BJP's Arvind Giri.With Congress and BSP not fielding candidates, it will be a direct fight between the BJP and SP. For the former, it seems to be more about its ego in terms of reinforcing its supremacy. For the latter, it can be more of a morale booster that can potentially make up for the loss faced in the assembly polls earlier this year.Both parties will hope to ride the sympathy wave — BJP has fielded the late Giri's 26-year-old son Aman. SP, that recently lost its patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav, has fielded Vinay Tewari who unsuccessfully contested the polls from the seat in 2017 and 2022.In Haryana Former CM Bhajan Lal's family has never lost the Adampur seat since the creation of the state in 1966.Now, Bhajan Lal's grandson, Bhavya Bishnoi, is contesting as a BJP candidate.The bypoll was necessitated after Bhajan Lal's son Kuldeep Bishnoi (Bhavya's father) switched from the Congress to BJP, resigning from the seat. He was expelled from Congress for "anti-party activities."With the Congress fielding Jai Prakash, who is close to former CM Bhupinder Hooda, the seat is likely to witness a fresh episode of the decades-old battle between Bhajan Lal and Hooda families.AAP, that registered a stellar performance in neighbouring Punjab, will hope to make it a three-way contest with the Congress. In Dhamnagar, Odisha the bypoll was necessitated by the death of BJP MLA Bishu Charan Sethi in September. The party has give ticket to his son Suryabanshi Suraj Sthitaprajna.Rival BJD has fielded a female candidate - Abanti Das. The Congress has fielded Harekrushna Sethi in Dhamnagar.This contest can be a reality check.The ruling BJD seemed to have lost steam with its below-par performance in the 2019 Odisha assembly elections but in the panchayat polls, earlier this year, it decimated the opposition.On the other hand, the BJP, which won eight of the 21 Lok Sabha seats in Odisha in 2019, seems to have recalibrated its strategy to regain the ground it has lost over the last three years.
Abdul Sattar challenged Aaditya Thackeray to face election by resigning from his constituencyPune: Maharashtra Agriculture Minister Abdul Sattar on Tuesday launched a fresh attack on Shiv Sena MLA Aaditya Thackeray daring him to face an election by resigning from his constituency.Sattar said he is ready to tender his resignation within a week if Chief Minister Eknath Shinde allows him and face byelection from the Sillod constituency in Aurangabad district, days after Aaditya said that MLAs loyal to CM Shinde will realise their standing in public in the 2024 elections.Aaditya and other leaders of the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) had been daring the 40 MLAs of the Shinde camp to resign and face elections."My challenge still stands. Even if he (Aaditya) does not tender his resignation and if the CM permits me, I can resign within one week and face election," Sattar told reporters in Pune.He said not a single farmer who suffered losses due to heavy rains will be left out of the government aid."I had already spoken to the Chief Minister and Deputy CM over the issue of giving help to farmers. Once we receive all panchnamas, the Cabinet will approve the financial assistance," he said.Sattar criticised former Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray's "two-and-a-half hour" visit to rain-hit farmers in Aurangabad district. He also targeted Aaditya over his visit to farms of rain-hit farmers.Sattar said Uddhav Thackeray had visited farms for just 24 minutes.PromotedListen to the latest songs, only on JioSaavn.com"What did he see in 24 minutes? I do not know. When he was the chief minister, he had said affected farmers should be paid Rs 50,000 per hectare but he seems to have forgotten his words," he said.(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)Featured Video Of The DayWatch: Team NDTV Escorted Out Of Gujarat Hospital By Police
With the Tata-Airbus military transport aircraft manufacturing unit project going to Gujarat, the Opposition parties in the state have pressed for resignation of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Industries Minister Uday Samant.While the Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) has demanded resignation of Shinde for another key development project going to the neighbouring state, stating that the CM should take moral responsibility for the development and resign the way British Prime Minister Liz Truss did, the Uddhav Thackeray-led Sena has asked Samant to resign for “misleading the state” over the Tata-Airbus project.Alleging that the Shinde-(Devendra) Fadnavis government was installed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to take away all key projects from Maharashtra to Gujarat, NCP chief spokesperson Mahesh Tapase told The Indian Express on Sunday: “One after another, key projects which could further push the development of Maharashtra and provide jobs to lakhs of youths are being taken away from the state. Every other project seem to be heading for Gujarat. This only highlights the fact that the BJP installed the Shinde-Fadnavis government to play its dirty political game.”Tapase further stated: “The Chief Minister should take the responsibility of Maharashtra being hit economically. British PM resigned after 45 days in power over the economic crisis faced by her country. Similarly, Chief Minister Shinde should quit owning moral responsibility over the failure of his government to stop crucial development projects being spirited away to Gujarat. The Maharashtra Government led by Eknath Shinde has repeatedly failed to stop the projects from going to Gujarat. His government has failed to protect the interest of Maharashtra and the people of Maharashtra.”Stating that Gujarat was committing “surgical strikes,” Tapase said, “The way the BJP has launched an attack on Maharashtra shows that a surgical strike was underway. The surgical strike is coming from Gujarat through BJP. Even as the strike has hit Maharashtra, the CM has remained a mere spectator and is doing nothing to alleviate the state’s sufferings. After Vedanta project went to Gujarat, the Chief Minister had said that Tata-Airbus project will come to Nagpur. Now his lie has been exposed and he should quit his office,” he said.Seeking Industries Minister Samant’s resignation, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) leader Aaditya Thackeray said, “At least four major projects which were supposed to come to Maharashtra have gone elsewhere. The Shinde-Fadnavis government is pulling Maharashtra back. The Industry Ministry has no clue about the way his department is functioning. The project has already gone to Gujarat and he is busy harping on bringing it back. He should instead resign….”Addressing a press conference in Mumbai on Saturday, Thackeray questioned Samant’s claim that the Tata-Airbus project went to Gujarat a year ago. “If the Tata-Airbus contract had been signed a year ago, why would Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari write a letter to the Tata Group asking for the project to be located in Nagpur? The Industries Minister knows nothing about his own ministry.”State Congress spokesperson Gopal Tiwari said, “We are not demanding the resignation of the Chief Minister or the Deputy Chief Minister. This is because the government itself is an illegal and unconstitutional one. Its fate is in the hands of the Supreme Court where its constitutional validity has been challenged. Every day is a bonus day for the government. Unfortunately, each new day is bringing bad news for Maharashtra as the state is losing key economic development projects. The latest project, Tata-Airbus, only highlights the fact that the government installed by the BJP in the state is a puppet government meant to deprive the people of Maharashtra of development.”The Congress said the Shinde-Fadnavis government has no right to stay in power. “Already it is an illegal government. And now, its dubious role as one working against the interest of Maharashtra has been exposed. This government should be dismissed forthwith,” Tiwari added.
Opposition parties in Maharashtra have demanded the resignation of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Industries Minister Uday Samant for letting the proposed Rs 21,935-crore Tata-Airbus military transport aircraft manufacturing facility go to Gujarat.Alleging that the BJP installed the Shinde-Devendra Fadnavis government to take away all the key projects from Maharashtra to Gujarat, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief spokesperson Mahesh Tapase told The Indian Express Sunday, “One after another, key projects which could further push the development of Maharashtra and provide jobs to lakhs of youths are being taken away from the state. Every other project seems to be heading for Gujarat. This only highlights the fact that the BJP installed the Shinde-Fadnavis government to play its dirty political game.”The NCP said Shinde should own moral responsibility for key projects going to Gujarat and resign the way British prime minister Liz Truss did. “The chief minister should take responsibility for Maharashtra getting hit economically. The British PM resigned after 45 days in power over the economic crisis. Similarly, Chief Minister Shinde should quit owning moral responsibility for the failure of his government. The Maharashtra government led by Shinde has failed to protect the interests of the state and its people,” Tapase said.“A surgical strike is coming from Gujarat through the BJP and even as the strike hit Maharashtra, the chief minister remained a mere spectator and did nothing to reduce the state’s sufferings, Tapase said. “After the Vedanta project went to Gujarat, the chief minister said the Tata-Airbus project will come to Nagpur. Now his lie has been exposed and he should quit his office,” he added alluding to Gujarat beating Maharashtra to land a joint venture of mining conglomerate Vedanta and Taiwanese manufacturing giant Foxconn.Meanwhile, Shiv Sena’s Uddhav Thackeray faction asked Samant to quit. “At least four major projects have gone elsewhere. The Shinde-Fadnavis government is pulling Maharashtra back. The industries minister has no clue about the way his department functions. The project has already gone to Gujarat and he is busy harping on bringing it back. He should instead resign,” said Sena MLA and former minister Aditya Thackeray at a press conference in Mumbai Saturday.“If the Tata-Airbus contract was signed a year ago, then why would Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari write a letter to the Tata Group asking for the location of its project in Nagpur? The industries minister knows nothing about his ministry,” added Aditya Thackeray.State Congress spokesperson Gopal Tiwari, however, said his party was not demanding the resignation of the ministers because it thinks the government itself is “illegal and unconstitutional”. Tiwari said, “The government’s fate is in the hands of the Supreme Court, where its constitutional validity has been challenged. Every day is a bonus for the government. Unfortunately, every day is bringing a bad day for Maharashtra as the state is losing key economic development projects. The latest project, Tata-Airbus, only highlights the fact that the government installed by the BJP in the state is a puppet government meant to deprive the people of Maharashtra of a development agenda.”“Already it is an illegal government. And now, its dubious role as the one working against the interest of Maharashtra has been exposed. This government should be dismissed forthwith,” he said.
Former Maharashtra minister Aaditya Thackeray on Saturday continued his tirade against the Eknath Shinde government over investments going to Gujarat, asking if that was due to the impending assembly elections in the neighbouring state and demanded the resignation of industries minister Uday Samant.The latest trigger for this attack was Gujarat getting the Tata-Airbus aircraft project, which Maharashtra was also vying for."Projects are going from the state, whether it is due to the assembly polls in Gujarat or whether it is due to more facilities being offered by that state as compared to Maharashtra. Investors seem to have lost faith in the state government here and are moving away from the state. All this is happening because those who have come to power are doing politics instead of governance," said Aaditya Thackeray.The Shiv Sena (Uddhav Thackeray faction) leader demanded the resignation of Samant, claiming that the minister was clueless about the functioning of his department. "If the project had already gone out of the state, why was Samant talking of getting it in the state," he asked.
Former Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray, who is fighting a legal battle to claim the legacy of the Shiv Sena founded by his father late Bal Thackeray, on Thursday claimed that not just the future of party but democracy in the country was at stake.Thackeray was addressing a function at the Shiv Sena Bhavan in Dadar area of Mumbai where he inducted former minister Sanjay Deshmukh from Yavatmal into his faction.Addressing a gathering after the induction, Thackeray said despite claims that the Shiv Sena had split and was finished, people were still coming to him.The Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government collapsed in June this year after a rebellion led by MLA Eknath Shinde.Shinde was later sworn in as the chief minister with the BJP’s support.The Election Commission earlier this month barred the Shiv Sena factions led by Thackeray and Shinde from using the party name and its election symbol ‘bow and arrow’ in the November 3 Andheri East Assembly bypoll.It allotted ‘ShivSena – Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray’ as the party name for the Thackeray faction, and ‘Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena’ (Balasaheb’s Shiv Sena) as the name for the Shinde group. The EC also allotted new poll symbols to the rival groups.Thackeray on Thursday said, “The common man and especially civilised people of the state are not agreeing with what has happened and are extending their support. They tell me don’t give up, fight, we are with you. We don’t agree with what’s happening.” “People whom I thought would never be politically close are coming out in support. Similarly, people of different religions and regions are extending support. It is not just the future of Shiv Sena but the democracy of the country is at stake,” the former chief minister added.He said people need to ask themselves whether democracy will stay alive or they would go back to slavery.“My future and that of my party will be decided by the people and the party cadre,” he said.Deshmukh, who joined the Thackeray faction on Thursday, was an MLA for two terms from Digras in Yavatmal.He had earlier been with the Shiv Sena and also served as a minister in the Congress-led Democratic Front government between 2002 and 2004. He was also with the BJP for a brief while.
My future will be decided by the people and the party cadre, Mr Thackeray said. (File)Mumbai: Former Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray, who is fighting a legal battle to claim the legacy of the Shiv Sena founded by his father late Bal Thackeray, on Thursday claimed that not just the future of party but democracy in the country was at stake.Uddhav Thackeray was addressing a function at the Shiv Sena Bhavan in Dadar area of Mumbai where he inducted former minister Sanjay Deshmukh from Yavatmal into his faction.Addressing a gathering after the induction, Mr Thackeray said despite claims that the Shiv Sena had split and was finished, people were still coming to him.The Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government collapsed in June this year after a rebellion led by MLA Eknath Shinde.Eknath Shinde was later sworn in as the chief minister with the BJP's support.The Election Commission earlier this month barred the Shiv Sena factions led by Mr Thackeray and Mr Shinde from using the party name and its election symbol 'bow and arrow' in the November 3 Andheri East Assembly bypoll.It allotted 'Shiv Sena - Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray' as the party name for the Thackeray faction, and 'Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena' (Balasaheb's Shiv Sena) as the name for the Shinde group. The EC also allotted new poll symbols to the rival groups.Uddhav Thackeray on Thursday said, "The common man and especially civilised people of the state are not agreeing with what has happened and are extending their support. They tell me don't give up, fight, we are with you. We don't agree with what's happening.""People whom I thought would never be politically close are coming out in support. Similarly, people of different religions and regions are extending support. It is not just the future of Shiv Sena but the democracy of the country is at stake," the former chief minister added.He said people need to ask themselves whether democracy will stay alive or they would go back to slavery. "My future and that of my party will be decided by the people and the party cadre," he said.Sanjay Deshmukh, who joined the Thackeray faction on Thursday, was an MLA for two terms from Digras in Yavatmal.PromotedListen to the latest songs, only on JioSaavn.comHe had earlier been with the Shiv Sena and also served as a minister in the Congress-led Democratic Front government between 2002 and 2004. He was also with the BJP for a brief while.(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
MUMBAI: Election results of 1,165 gram panchayats in 17 districts across the state were marked by claims and counter claims by the Maha Vikas Aghadi comprising Uddhav Thackeray's faction of Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress on one side and the BJP and the Eknath Shinde-led faction of Sena on the other. These are the first elections to rural bodies since Shinde took over as the CM on June 30, 2022. BJP leader and deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis has congratulated party BJP workers for securing control over the highest number of gram panchayats, while Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee president Nana Patole claimed that it was the MVA which captured the maximum number of gram panchayats. "BJP's claims are misleading, they always claim victory over maximum number of gram panchayats. Congress performance was impressive. In the past too, it had won more gram panchayats than BJP,'' Patole said. As per data released by BJP, of 1,141 gram panchayats, while results have been declared in 946, BJP has won in 397, Shiv Sena's Shinde faction 81, Thackeray's faction 87, Congress 104, NC, CPI 57, independents 95 and others 17. Thackeray faction of Sena has claimed that MVA has gained control over 781 panchayats, while BJP and Shinde faction together have won 361 and others 23. NCP, it claimed, has won 287, BJP 264, Congress 251, Thackeray faction 243 and Shinde faction 97. Fadnavis said BJP's dominance indicates people's faith in the leadership of Prime Minister Modi. People have expressed faith in the new government led by Eknath Shinde and me, we have together gained control over 478 gram panchayats. We are ahead of the combined strength of the MVA,'' he said. A Thackeray spokesperson said in the Konkan region, the party made impressive gains while the Shinde faction was wiped out. The Shinde faction claimed that it won 80% of the seats in Thane district. Thane district is the hometown of chief minister Shinde. BJP and Shinde faction claimed that they have won 121 gram panchayats in the district (Shinde faction 63, BJP 58) while Thackeray-led Sena and MVA have won only 28 gram panchayats. A senior bureaucrat said the claims made by parties have no substance since the elections are not contested on the basis of affiliation to political parties.
MUMBAI: About 96% of the voters across the state and 97% in Mumbai city exercised their franchise in the election for the Congress president's post held on Monday. In Maharashtra, the MPCC and Mumbai Congress Committee are separate entities, therefore separate voting was held - MPCC voters cast their votes at Tilak Bhavan while Mumbai Congress voters exercised their franchise at Rajeev Gandhi Bhavan. The entire electoral process was supervised by AICC in-charge Pallam Raju, a former union minister. Veteran Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Shashi Tharoor are contesting against each other. "Out of 561 voters of the MPCC, 542 voters exercised their right to vote, which also includes ballot voting,'' Pallam Raju said. Raju said voting took place between 10 am and 4 pm. Among the voters were MPCC president Nana Patole, former CMs Ashok Chavan, Prithviraj Chavan, Sushilkumar Shinde and Congress legislature party leader Balasaheb Thorat. In the Mumbai Congress office, out of 237 voters, 229 voters exercised their franchise. Congress veteran Mallikarjun Kharge and party MP from Thiruvananthapuram Shashi Tharoor are in the fray for the top organisational post. Counting will be held on October 19 in New Delhi.
Maharashtra Gram Panchayat Polls: The Congress claimed to have won 134 seats. (Representational)Mumbai: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday claimed to have won a maximum of 397 seats in gram panchayat elections in Maharashtra.The results of the elections held on Sunday for 1,079 Gram Panchayats were declared on Monday. A voter turnout of more than 75 per cent was recorded."The BJP has become the number one party in gram panchayat elections by winning 397 seats. Along with chief minister Eknath Shinde-led 'Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena', the joint rally has reached 478," the state BJP said in a social media post.The BJP has managed to win the post of Sarpanch or village head in 235 villages. The Congress claimed to have won 134 seats, Nationalist Congress Party 110, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) 128 and the 'Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena' 114.As many as 300 Independent candidates have also won the gram panchayat elections.Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said voters have given their verdict in favour of 'Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena'."The step we took (of parting ways with the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena) stands vindicated. 'Balsahebanchi Shiv Sena' and the BJP have got tremendous support from the people," he said.Mr Shinde said people have voted with trust which is reflected in the results.He said the state government is committed to ushering in development.Congress candidate Mukta Kokarde was on Monday elected as the president of Nagpur Zill Parishad and Kunda Raut as the vice president.They were elected in the special general meeting body meeting of ZP members.The effective strength of the Zilla Parishad is 57. Incumbent Nagpur ZP president Rashmi Barve of Congress has completed two-and-a-half-year of the five-year term.The BJP had supported Congress rebels Pritam Kawre for the post of Nagpur ZP president and Nana Kambhale as the vice president.Nagpur Congress (rural) president Rajendra Mulak told reporters that this is a historic victory and the BJP is losing its ground.Sangeeta Adhau and Sunil Fatkar of the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) were on Monday elected as president and vice president, respectively, of the Akola Zilla Parishad, an official said.Notably, the Congress had dominated the results of elections to the posts of Panchayat Samiti chairpersons and deputy chairpersons in Nagpur district which were declared on Saturday- on the same day of voting.PromotedListen to the latest songs, only on JioSaavn.comThe BJP could not win even a single post of chairperson and managed to secure only three seats of deputy chairperson in the elections.(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
A total of 797 Congress delegates from Maharashtra will cast their votes here on Monday to elect the new president of the party with veteran leader Mallikarjun Kharge and Lok Sabha MP Shashi Tharoor in the fray for the top post. Out of these 797 delegates, 561 are from the party's Maharashtra Pradesh unit, while 236 belong to the Mumbai unit. While the Maharashtra delegates will cast their vote at Tilak Bhavan, the grand old party's state unit headquarters here, the Mumbai representatives will vote at its city unit office in south Mumbai. The voting will be held between 10 am and 4 pm. There will be three booths for the delegates to cast their votes, a statement from the state Congress said. Congress's state election returning officers Pallam Raju, Narendra Rawat and Krishna Punia are already in Mumbai with the ballot boxes. The delegates have been given identity cards of the All India Congress Committee (AICC) bar codes. The bar-coded identity card and any other identity proof like voter card, Aadhaar card, Pan card, driving licence, bank passbook will be required to be displayed before voting, the statement said. Raju urged all delegates to participate in the election process. The results of the election will be out on October 19. Country-wide, more than 9,000 Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) delegates form the electoral college to pick the party chief in a secret ballot at over 65 polling booths across the country in an electoral contest which is taking place for the sixth time in the party's 137-year history. Kharge is considered the firm favourite for his perceived proximity to the Gandhis and backing by senior leaders, even as Tharoor has pitched himself as the candidate of change. During the campaign, even though Tharoor has raised issues of uneven playing field, both candidates and the party have maintained that the Gandhis are neutral and that there is no "official candidate". The last electoral contest for the top post of the party took place in 2000 when Jitendra Prasada had suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of Sonia Gandhi.
If Rutuja Latke wins, it will come as a morale booster for Uddhav Thackeray. (File)Mumbai: The BJP's last-minute decision to pull out of the high-decibel Andheri (east) Assembly bypoll is seen as a strategic step factoring in the "sympathy factor" potentially in favour of the Uddhav Thackeray-led faction's nominee Rutuja Latke, say political observers.The BJP leadership must have weighed the odds and concluded that the risk to pit Murji Patel against the wife of late MLA Ramesh Latke is not worth taking for a single bypoll as the main battle is shaping up for the BMC polls, they said."If Rutuja Latke wins, it will come as a morale booster for Uddhav Thackeray. Her victory will mean that voters' sympathy is with Thackeray after the split in the party. The BJP seems wanted to deny Mr Thackeray any chance to claim a high moral ground," they said.Moreover, the Eknath Shinde faction doesn't have much presence in Andheri whereas the Uddhav Thackeray-led faction has loyal Marathi voters.The withdrawal of Mr Patel's nomination handed a virtual walkover to Rutuja Latke though voting will be held on November 3 as six other candidates have not withdrawn their nominations.The bypoll is the first electoral contest after the vertical split in Shiv Sena whose election symbol- bow and arrow- was frozen by the Election Commission.In its interim order, the EC had allotted separate symbols and nomenclatures to the factions led by Thackeray and Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.Ahead of the bypoll, Rutuja Latke had to move the Bombay High Court to make Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) accept her resignation to enable her to file her nomination.Interestingly, MNS leader Raj Thackeray had appealed to Deputy chief minister and BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis to not field the party candidate.Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar had also advised the BJP to ensure that the bypoll is unopposed as per the "political tradition" in Maharashtra."Raj Thackeray's letter to Mr Fadnavis was a strategic move and is as per the wishes of BJP. Raj Thackeray will not do anything which will embarrass him later. This indicates that BJP and MNS are working closely together for the upcoming BMC elections," the observers feel.In Maharashtra, electoral contests are generally avoided if bypolls necessitated by the death of sitting MLAs or MPs are contested by their kin."The BJP had previously also not contested some of the bypolls," state BJP chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule had said while announcing Patel's withdrawal from the fray.The NCP and Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut had said the BJP might have decided to withdraw as they have sensed a defeat in the bypoll."The BJP had conducted a survey which predicted that their candidate (Murji Patel) would lose the bypoll by at least 45,000 votes. This is the reason they decided to withdraw," Mr Raut had said and added that events like Raj Thackeray writing to Mr Fadnavis were all "scripted".Andheri East assembly constituency is one of the 26 constituencies located in the Mumbai Suburban district. It is a part of the Mumbai North West Lok Sabha constituency.PromotedListen to the latest songs, only on JioSaavn.comLate Ramesh Latke snatched this seat from Congress in 2014. In the 2019 elections, LMr atke got 62,680 votes. BJP's Murji Patel, who contested as an independent, got 45,680 votes. Congress's Amin Kutty came third with 27,925 votes.(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
MUMBAI: Political analysts, observers and a section of leaders from within BJP said the party's decision to pull out of the Andheri East by-election was a strategic withdrawal after weighing the risk of a loss ahead of BMC polls. While BJP had drafted a mega plan to fight the bypoll, roping in 13 MLAs and 56 corporators, with the poll turning into a prestige fight, analysts said BJP's loss could have hit the party ahead of civic polls. The withdrawal also indicates CM Eknath Shinde's faction too wasn't confident of a win, they said. Observers said though this was a bypoll, a loss barely months after a split in the Shiv Sena and despite the freezing of Sena's bow and arrow symbol would have raised a question mark on the Shinde faction's impact and support among Sena's voter base. The Shinde faction had little electoral clout in the constituency and essentially BJP was fighting the poll on its own might. A Sena functionary said BJP had expected Uddhav Thackeray or Aaditya Thackeray to reach out and make an appeal that the bypoll be held unopposed. But since no such appeal was made, Raj Thackeray's request, followed by Sharad Pawar's appeal, could have been used by BJP for its 'exit strategy.' For BJP nominee Murji Patel, this has come as a second setback as he wasn't given a ticket for the 2019 assembly polls and ended up fighting as an independent. Political analyst Birju Mundra said BJP would have got a setback if Patel had lost. "There was sympathy for Rutuja. While there was sympathy for Sena following the split and freezing of symbol, the controversy over her resignation not being accepted helped things snowball. Uddhav Sena had the edge and BJP was fighting a tough battle. BJP didn't want to turn it into a prestige poll. Had Uddhav Sena won, it would have set the momentum for BMC polls and damaged political perception about the Shinde faction in Mumbai. Had Latke fought on a Shinde faction ticket, it would have been a different ballgame," Mundra said. "But it's a fact the BJP cadre is disappointed and many are saying this is indirect acceptance of defeat," he added. Latke became MLA in 2014 when he defeated Congress's Suresh Shetty. In 2019 he defeated BJP rebel Patel. In 2019, Congress's Amin Kutty had polled close to 28,000 votes, while Patel polled 45,000 as independent. Latke polled over 62,000 votes. Election data analyst Hitesh Jain said BJP would have found it hard to add another 20,000 votes to its kitty. "Bypolls have low turnout, around 50%. This time Congress and NCP backed Sena, so it was expected Congress' votes would go to Sena. Data from 2014 and 2019 shows Congress has 30,000 voters. Patel would have led in 3 wards but would likely have trailed in 6. To flip 6 wards would have been hard, though given Patel's popularity in 3-4 wards, it could have been a close contest," he said.
Even as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) took a moral high ground while announcing the withdrawal of its candidate from Andheri (East) assembly bypoll claiming it was in accordance with Maharashtra political culture of not contesting against the kin of deceased MLA, the party in the past has chosen to fight byelections against the relatives of late MLAs.Since the 2019 assembly polls in Maharashtra, the state has till now witnessed three bypolls in Pandharpur (Solapur district), Deglur (Nanded district), and Kolhapur north (Kolhapur district) and BJP had fielded candidates in all three byelections, and even won in Pandharpur.After the death of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) Bharat Bhalke from Pandharpur, the NCP had given ticket to his son Bhagirath Bhalke, while the BJP fielded Samadhan Autade. In a tightly contested election, Autade won the seat by a margin of 3,700 votes.In Nanded district, after the death of Congress MLA Raosaheb Antapurkar, the party fielded his son Jitesh Antapurkar. BJP fielded former Shiv Sena MLA Subhash Sabne to contest against him in Deglur. In an election which had become a prestige issue for the former CM and senior Congress leader Ashok Chavan, Antapurkar won by more than 41,000 votes.Lastly, in Kolhapur north after the death of Congress MLA Chandrakant Jadhav, the party had fielded his wife Jayashree Jadhav against whom BJP gave a ticket to Satyajit Kadam. The Congress led by the then minister of state (home), Satej Patil, registered a victory by around 20,000 votes.In Andheri (East), after the death of Shiv Sena MLA Ramesh Latke, Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena has fielded his wife Rutuja Latke. BJP announced the candidature of Murji Patel who had in 2019 contested as an independent and won second-rank votes.Announcing the decision to withdraw from the bypoll, BJP state president Chandrashekhar Bawankule had said that his party could have won the bypoll but in accordance with the state’s rich political culture the decision has been taken to not contest against the wife of a deceased MLA.Earlier, Maharashtra Navanirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray had written to Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis requesting him to withdraw BJP’s candidature. Later, NCP chief Sharad Pawar too had advised the BJP to not stretch too far and allow bypoll unopposed as barely 18 months remain in the present term of the assembly.The BJP senior leadership held a discussion on the issue Sunday night and finalised the decision to withdraw the candidate.Congress leaders, meanwhile, have taunted the BJP saying its fear of losing the election has led to the party’s decision, while NCP’s Ajit Pawar has appealed to all parties to refrain from making comments on the issue as ‘everything has been sorted.’Sources have hinted that the internal surveys conducted by the BJP indicated that the results would not be in favour of the party.In the past, after the death of senior BJP leader and Beed Lok Sabha MP Gopinath Munde, the NCP chief had decided to not fight the by-election against Munde’s daughter. However, in 2011 after the death of MNS MLA Ramesh Wanjale from Pune’s Khadkwasla constituency, his wife Harshada chose to contest the bypoll from the NCP and BJP’s Bhimrao Tapkir contested against her. Tapkir had won the bypoll by over 3,500 votes.
Aurangabad: The BJP, after coming back to power in Maharashtra, will be aiming to break the jinx associated with its loss in the poll for the Marathwada teachers’ constituency poll. The party, however, is still searching for a candidate to support. On the other hand, the NCP-backed candidate has won the Marathwada teachers’ constituency polls in the three past elections. Sitting NCP supported MLC Vikram Kale has already started his poll preparations assuming that he will be renominated. The BJP is still undecided about the candidate to extend support to. Traditionally, Maharashtra Rajya Shikshak Parishad fights Marathwada teachers’ constituency poll and BJP extends support to candidate nominated by it. When contacted, Parishad’s treasurer Kiran Bhawthankar said the candidate for upcoming election would be declared in the next 10 to 12 days. “We have already declared the candidate for the Konkan and Nagpur constituencies,” he said.
