New Delhi, Jun 23 (PTI) — In the recent assembly bypolls across four states, key trends show the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) making significant inroads, while the BJP and Trinamool Congress (TMC) maintain their leads in specific regions. The elections were necessitated by the deaths and resignations of sitting MLAs.
In Punjab's Ludhiana West, AAP candidate Sanjeev Arora is leading with a margin of 2,286 votes against Congress' Bharat Bhushan Ashu. After six out of 14 rounds of counting, Arora has secured 14,486 votes, while Ashu has 12,200. The BJP's Jiwan Gupta has garnered 10,703 votes, trailing closely behind, and the Shiromani Akali Dal's Parupkar Singh Ghuman has 3,283 votes. This bypoll was prompted by the death of AAP MLA Gurpreet Bassi Gogi earlier this year.
Gujarat sees AAP's Gopal Italia in the lead for the Visavadar seat, with a comfortable margin of 14,073 votes over the BJP's Kirit Patel, after 18 of 21 counting rounds. Italia has amassed 65,295 votes. Meanwhile, in the Kadi constituency, which is reserved for Scheduled Caste candidates, BJP's Rajendra Chavda is ahead by a wide margin of 35,608 votes over Congress' Ramesh Chavda. The Visavadar bypoll follows former AAP legislator Bhupendra Bhayani's resignation and shift to the BJP.
In Kerala, the Congress-led UDF is surging ahead in the Nilambur seat, a strategic victory against the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF). UDF's Aryadan Shoukath has taken a lead of 11,077 votes over CPI(M)'s M Swaraj. This election follows the resignation of incumbent MLA P V Anvar, turning Nilambur into a contested battleground and providing the Congress with strategic impetus as state elections loom next year.
West Bengal has the TMC leading in Nadia district's Kaliganj seat, with candidate Alifa Ahamed pulling ahead by over 19,000 votes. After seven counting rounds, Ahamed has 32,308 votes, against Congress' Kabil Uddin Shaikh, who, backed by the CPI(M), has 13,144 votes. The BJP’s Ashis Ghosh follows with 11,987 votes. The necessity for bypolls arose from the passing of TMC MLA Nasiruddin Ahamed, whose daughter Alifa Ahamed seeks to uphold the party's hold on Kaliganj.
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