NEW DELHI: Voting began at 7 am on Tuesday for byelections to five assembly constituencies and one Lok Sabha seat across Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, West Bengal and Assam, with counting scheduled for October 9.The seats going to the polls are Madurantakam and Dharapuram in Tamil Nadu, Thattanchavady in Puducherry, Nandigram and Rejinagar in West Bengal, and Nagaon Lok Sabha constituency in Assam.Polling in the Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and West Bengal assembly seats will continue till 6 pm, while voting in Nagaon will end at 5 pm.
Vijay’s TVK faces first major electoral test
The Madurantakam and Dharapuram bypolls are the first major electoral test for chief minister C Joseph Vijay since his Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) came to power following the April assembly elections, two years after the party was launched.Twenty-seven candidates are contesting in Madurantakam and 30 in Dharapuram. The vacancies arose after AIADMK MLAs Maragatham Kumaravel of Madurantakam and P Sathyabama of Dharapuram resigned. Both subsequently joined TVK and have been fielded by the party in the bypolls.The DMK, AIADMK and CPI have also fielded candidates. The CPI was among the parties that supported TVK after it emerged as the single-largest party and formed the government.The Tamil Nadu contests were also preceded by a war of words between DMK and TVK. DMK’s Madurantakam candidate I Paranthamen alleged horse-trading by TVK and sought action against Vijay, while former DMK minister V Senthilbalaji alleged that saris and lamps were being distributed to voters in Dharapuram.TVK denied the allegations and complained to the Election Commission, accusing Paranthamen of campaigning during the silent period and attempting to influence voters. The party also sought his disqualification. TVK denied the gift-distribution allegations, calling them a last-minute attempt to damage its reputation.
West Bengal: Nandigram in focus
Nandigram in Purba Medinipur is the most politically symbolic of the two West Bengal contests. The constituency was the centre of Mamata Banerjee’s anti-land acquisition movement that helped pave the way for the TMC’s rise in 2011. It was also where BJP’s Suvendu Adhikari defeated Banerjee in 2021.Adhikari, now chief minister, won Nandigram again in the 2026 assembly election but chose to retain Bhabanipur, vacating Nandigram and necessitating the bypoll.The BJP has fielded Hasirani Rath, whose son Chandranath Rath, a former aide of Adhikari, was shot dead on May 6, two days after the BJP won the assembly elections.The Mamata Banerjee-led TMC faction’s nominee Sanchita Pradhan Dey withdrew from the contest after meeting Adhikari. Banerjee subsequently backed Congress nominee Milan Pradhan, saying the move was aimed at strengthening the INDIA bloc.Pradhan was arrested in old cases linked to the 2007 Nandigram land-acquisition agitation but later secured interim bail and returned to campaign. The Calcutta high court granted him interim bail till October 21 on September 29, while the Supreme Court adjourned the West Bengal government’s plea challenging the order.The rival TMC faction led by Ritabrata Banerjee has fielded Mohammad Eteshamul Haque, while the CPI has nominated Santigopal Giri.The Election Commission also ordered the immediate replacement of Ajay Kumar Mishra, the officer-in-charge of Nandigram police station, hours before polling. Debashis Sarkar, formerly traffic inspector-in-charge at the East Midnapore traffic control room, was appointed as the new IC. The EC did not give an official reason for the transfer.A total of 71 companies of central forces have been deployed for the Nandigram and Rejinagar bypolls, with 37 companies in Nandigram and 34 in Rejinagar. Rejinagar has 315 polling stations and Nandigram 323, with webcasting available at all booths. Rejinagar has 2.57 lakh electors, while Nandigram has 2.67 lakh.
Rejinagar: Five-way contest
Rejinagar in Murshidabad fell vacant after Humayun Kabir, who won both Rejinagar and Nowda in the 2026 assembly election, chose to retain Nowda.Kabir had earlier formed his Aam Janata Unnayan Party after being suspended and subsequently expelled by the TMC. His party has fielded his son Golam Nabi Azad from Rejinagar, where around 70% of voters belong to the minority community.The BJP has fielded Sakharav Sarkar, the former Murshidabad district president, while the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC faction has nominated Rabiul Alam Chowdhury. The rival TMC faction has fielded Safiuzzaman Sheikh, Congress has nominated Mohammad Abdullahil Kafi and CPI(M) has fielded Syed Asad Ali.The administration has put in place multi-layered security arrangements, with no administrative changes reported in Rejinagar.
Assam: BJP seeks to wrest Nagaon from Congress
Polling also began at 7 am in the Nagaon Lok Sabha constituency, where the BJP, Congress and AIUDF are locked in the main contest among 15 candidates.The bypoll was necessitated after Congress MP Pradyut Bordoloi resigned and subsequently contested the Dispur assembly election on a BJP ticket. Congress has fielded former MLA Sibamoni Bora, while the BJP has nominated Devashish Sharma, an ex-IAS officer.AIUDF president Badruddin Ajmal is also contesting after replacing the party’s original nominee Rejaul Karim Sarkar.More than 55% of Nagaon’s voters belong to the minority community. The BJP is seeking to expand its base in the constituency, while Congress is seeking to retain the seat it held after Bordoloi won it in 2019 and 2024. AIUDF is seeking to maintain its influence after its representation fell from 16 MLAs to two in the April assembly election.The district administration has identified 624 polling stations as sensitive. A total of 19.05 lakh voters, including 9.43 lakh women and 50 third-gender electors, are eligible to vote. The constituency has 2,312 polling stations, including five auxiliary booths.The Assam Chief Electoral Officer’s office said polling personnel and materials had been dispatched and law-and-order arrangements reviewed. Home voting through postal ballot has already been completed.
Puducherry: NDA government faces popularity test
Polling began at 7 am in Thattanchavady assembly constituency in Puducherry, where the four-month-old NDA government led by chief minister N Rangasamy faces a test.The seat fell vacant after Rangasamy, who won both Thattanchavady and Mangalam in the April assembly elections, chose to retain Mangalam.The All India NR Congress, which leads the NDA government, has fielded Ashok Anand. The DMK has nominated K Sethu Selvam and Congress has fielded E Vinayagam. Congress has the backing of its Tamil Nadu ally TVK.Eleven candidates are in the fray, with the contest being seen as a three-cornered battle between the ruling AINRC-led NDA, Congress and DMK.Counting for all six bypolls is scheduled for October 9.
