01:22November 20, 2024
Out of 15 seats, BJP, Congress and SP have 4 seats each.
Out of 15 seats for the Assembly by-elections, 13 fell vacant due to MPs becoming MPs, 1 death and 1 going to jail. Of these, 2 seats are reserved for the SC. Voting is taking place on up to 9 seats in Uttar Pradesh. Out of the 15 seats, BJP, Congress and Samajwadi Party (SP) had 4 seats each and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) and Nishad Party had one seat each.
Maharashtra’s Nanded Lok Sabha seat fell vacant due to the death of Congress MP Vasantrao Chavan. He died in August 2024, just two months after the Lok Sabha elections. The party has made his son Ravindra Chavan as its candidate. While the BJP recruited Dr Santuk Humbarde.
Earlier, voting for 14 seats in 3 states was scheduled to take place on November 13, but due to Guru Nanak Dev Ji’s Prakash Parv and Kalapathy Rastholsevam festivals, the Election Commission had changed the date.
Uttar Pradesh: 2027 litmus test in 9 seats of Purvanchal, Awadh and West UP
The 9 Assembly seats in the by-election are part of many political and cultural areas of the state. This is why it is considered a litmus test for the 2027 parliamentary elections.
The SP won 37 seats out of 80, dealing a major blow to the BJP in the Lok Sabha elections. At the same time, the BJP halved its number of seats, from 62 to 33. In this regard, this by-election is important for both parties.
Both the parties have distributed tickets for this by-election keeping in mind the caste equations of 2027. The BJP has fielded candidates on 8 seats. The Meerapur seat was left to the allied party RLD.
NDA gave tickets to 5 OBCs, 2 Brahmins, 1 Dalit and 1 Kshatriya. The alliance attempted to woo all castes, even among the backward classes. For this, the leaders of the Maurya, Kurmi, Pal, Nishad and Yadav communities got their chance.
At the same time, the SP presented 3 OBC candidates, 2 Dalits and 4 Muslims, using the PDA formula (Backward, Dalit, Minority). Even if 6 out of 9 PS candidates come from political families, the BJP also gave a chance to new faces.
Out of these 9 seats, SP held 4, BJP 3, Nishad Party and RLD 1 seat each. In the by-elections, the BJP is focusing on implementing the Rampur model to win the four seats held by the SP. Of these, both parties have put their full strength into Karhal and Kundarki seats.
The Karhal seat of Mainpuri district is considered to be the stronghold of the Mulayam Singh family. Akhilesh Yadav fielded his nephew Tej Pratap Yadav from here. He was the MP from Mainpuri. This seat fell vacant after Akhilesh was elected as MP from Kannauj Lok Sabha seat. Here, the BJP fielded Akhilesh’s brother-in-law Anujesh Yadav as its candidate to counter SP’s nepotism.
At the same time, the BJP gave ticket to Ramveer Singh Thakur from the Muslim-dominated Kundarki seat of Moradabad. He had contested and lost this seat in 2012 and 2017. The BJP has won only once in 1993. This is the reason why the BJP fielded 4 of its ministers to win this seat.
Moreover, to win this seat, the BJP nominated 7,000 Panna Pramukhs. Along with this, the stand president and his executive also work wholeheartedly on a total of 436 stands. This seat is also significant as it is in Moradabad, the home district of BJP state president Bhupendra Singh. On the other hand, SP has fielded Haji Rizwan in this seat. He was a member of parliament here three times.
Punjab: Relying on dynasty politics and defectors, all four BJP candidates are from other parties
In all four state Assembly seats, all parties expressed confidence in the renegades and dynasty politics. The 12 candidates from the Congress, AAP and BJP include 6 defectors, the wives of 2 MPs and the son of an MP.
All four BJP candidates are from other parties. At the same time, Akali Dal is not participating in the by-elections. These seats had become vacant after their MPs became MPs. All four seats are in the rural belt of Punjab. Of these, three were organized by the Congress and one by the AAP.
Amrita Vading, wife of Congress state president and Ludhiana MP Amarinder Singh Raja Vading, is contesting from the Giddarbaha seat. Amarinder won 3 consecutive elections from here. AAP has fielded Hardeep Singh.
While the BJP gave ticket to Manpreet Badal. He left the Congress in January 2023. Manpreet is the nephew of former CM Prakash Singh Badal and cousin of former Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Badal. Manpreet is the person who brought current Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann into politics.
The Congress has given ticket to Jatinder Kaur, wife of Gurdaspur MP and former deputy CM Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, from the Dera Baba Nanak seat. He also won this seat in the last three elections. However, his vote share decreases each time. It was 36.70% in 2022 compared to 50.22% in 2012.
The BJP has fielded Ravikaran Singh in this seat. He had contested against Sukhjinder on the Akali Dal ticket in 2022, but lost by 466 votes. He joined the BJP before the Lok Sabha elections. Ravikaran’s chances of victory increased as Akali Dal did not contest the by-elections. Whereas AAP has given ticket to Gurdeep Singh Randhawa.
AAP gave ticket to Ishank Chabbewal, son of Hoshiarpur MP Dr Rajkumar, from Chabbewal seat. Rajkumar became an MP from Chabbewal on a Congress ticket in 2022. Before the Lok Sabha elections, he joined the AAP and became an MP.
The Congress has given ticket to Ranjit Kumar of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP). Ranjit, who had been president of the district bar association, had contested the Lok Sabha elections from Hoshiarpur on a BSP ticket. He was associated with the BSP since the Kanshiram days.
At the same time, the BJP has made Sohan Singh Thandal its candidate for this seat. He left Akali Dal and joined BJP a day before the nomination date ended.
The AAP has fielded Harinder Singh Dhaliwal, friend of Sangrur MP Gurmeet Singh Hayer, as its candidate for the Barnala seat. The BJP has fielded two-time Congress MP Kewal Singh Dhillon. The Congress gave its ticket to Kuldeep Singh.
Uttarakhand: Congress-BJP has faith in former MLAs, CM Dhami also participated in the campaign.
For the by-elections, both the Congress and BJP parties have expressed confidence in their former MLAs. The Congress gave its ticket to Manoj Rawat, who became an MP in 2017 from this seat. The party ignored many big names and made them candidates. He placed third in the 2022 legislative elections. Despite this, he remained continuously active in the region. This is why the party expressed its confidence in him.
The BJP has fielded two-time former MP Asha Nautiyal. She was an MP from the same seat in 2002 and 2007. She had lost to Shailarani Rawat of Congress in 2012. Asha Nautiyal is also the state president of Mahila Morcha. The BJP used all its strength. From state president to chief minister, Pushkar Singh Dhami has been busy campaigning.
Kerala: Congress-BJP contest, Congress rebels make by-election interesting
Voting will take place on Wednesday in Palakkad, one of the two assembly seats in the state. Voting took place for the second Chelakkara seat on 13 November. The Palakkad Assembly seat had fallen vacant after Congress MLA Shafi Parambil was elected as MLA from Vadakara.
The Congress has given ticket to Youth Congress state president Rahul BR and the BJP has given ticket to its state general secretary C Krishnakumar. Krishnakumar was also a four-time councilor and vice-chairman of the Palakkad municipality.
In the 2021 assembly elections, BJP candidate E Sreedharan lost this seat by just 3,859 votes. This time too, the contest is between the Congress and the BJP. The Sangh is also fully engaged in the election campaign. Volunteers from many other districts have also been camping here for weeks.
At the same time, independent candidate P Sarin made the by-election interesting. He was the head of the National Digital Media Cell of the Congress. When Sarin expressed his displeasure over Rahul BR getting the ticket, the Congress expelled him from the party on October 17 due to anti-party activities. Sarin, who was an officer of the Indian Audit and Accounts Service (IAAS), is now running as an independent.
Maharashtra: Nanded Lok Sabha by-election, former CM Ashok Chavan’s credibility at stake.
The Nanded Lok Sabha seat in Marathwada region has become a question of credibility for both the BJP and the Congress. The challenge for the BJP is all the more difficult as the party suffered a crushing defeat in this area in the Lok Sabha elections.
The Congress has given its ticket to Ravindra Chavan, son of late MP Vasantrao. While the BJP recruited Dr Santuk Humbarde. The twist is that Santuk’s brother Mohan Humbarde is the incumbent Congress MLA from Nanded South and is contesting the elections this time too. He is considered close to former CM Ashok Chavan.
Nanded is the stronghold of veteran Congress leader Ashok Chavan (now with the BJP). His father had also been CM. The Chavan family dominates all elections like the local body, assembly, Lok Sabha. After Chavan joined the BJP in February 2024, the Congress’s situation here was considered bad, but Vasantrao’s victory surprised everyone.
Chavan’s daughter Shreejaya is also starting her political campaign from Bhokar assembly seat in the Maharashtra elections. This seat also exists in Nanded Lok Sabha. This is the reason why Ashok Chavan’s reputation is at stake in this election.