By-polls 2023 In 4 State: By-elections were held in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Odisha and Meghalaya on Wednesday (May 10). Of these, more than 90 percent polling has been recorded in the northeastern state of Meghalaya. Bye-elections were held in two assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh and one assembly seat each in Meghalaya and Odisha, while voting was held for the by-election in Jalandhar Lok Sabha seat in Punjab. Commission officials said the polling was completely peaceful.
‘The exact figure will be known on Thursday, May 11’
According to the data released by the Election Commission at 9 pm, 54 percent votes were cast in Jalandhar Lok Sabha seat while 44.95 and 39.51 percent voting was recorded in Swar and Chanbe assembly seats of Uttar Pradesh respectively. On the other hand, 68.12 percent polling was recorded in Jharsuguda assembly seat of Odisha and 91.87 percent in Sohiong assembly seat of Meghalaya.
Allegations and counter-allegations too
In Punjab, the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), the main opposition Congress, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and the Bharatiya Janata Party are contesting on this Dalit-dominated seat in a four-cornered contest. Leaders of opposition parties ‘AAP’ But at many booths ‘outsiders’ Has been accused of violating the model code of conduct by deploying However, the state’s ruling party has denied the allegation.
From Amritsar’s Baba Bakala seat ‘AAP’ MLA Dalbir Singh Tong was arrested for violating the model code of conduct and was later released on bail. Congress MLA from Shahkot Hardev Singh Laddi Sherowalia alleged that ‘AAP’ MLA Tong, being an outsider, is roaming in Shahkot which is a part of Jalandhar parliamentary constituency.
Congress candidate Karamjit Kaur Chowdhary, through her election agent, wrote a letter to the Chief Election Commissioner, alleging that the ‘AAP’ Leaders and workers are still present in almost every village and ward. He alleged, “The ruling Aam Aadmi Party is misusing the government machinery and no action is being taken by the Returning Officer and Assistant Returning Officer.&rdquo ;
Jalandhar constituency has a total of 16,21,800 voters. Of these, 8,44,904 are men, 7,76,855 are women and 41 are transgender. A total of 19 candidates are trying their luck in the election field, out of which four are women. On this seat, Karamjit Kaur, wife of the late Santokh Singh Chowdhary from the Congress, left the Congress and joined the ‘AAP’ Sushil Rinku, a former MLA who joined the BJP, and Indra Iqbal Singh Atwal, a Dalit Sikh who left the Shiromani Akali Dal and joined the BJP, are in the fray.
Atwal is the son of Charanjit Singh Atwal, former Speaker of the Punjab Legislative Assembly. Charanjit Singh Atwal has also joined BJP. The Akali Dal has fielded its two-time MLA Sukhwinder Kumar Sukhi as its candidate. The SAD was supported by the Bahujan Samaj Party.
Swar and Chanbe assembly seats also hold by-elections
While in Uttar Pradesh, the by-elections to the Swar and Chanbe assembly seats are a direct contest between the ruling BJP and the opposition Samajwadi Party (SP). According to officials, there are a total of 6.62 lakh voters in both the seats. Among them, there are 3.51 lakh men, 3.11 lakh women and 82 other voters. Six candidates are in the fray for the bypoll to Swar assembly seat in Rampur district, while a total of 14 candidates are in the fray for Chanbe seat in Mirzapur district.
Amid SP’s allegations of police preventing people from casting their votes at some booths, 44.95 per cent polling was recorded till 5 pm in Swar seat, while 39.51 per cent votes were cast in Chhanbe. The SP claimed in a tweet from its official page, ‘Police are preventing voters from casting their votes in Khempur, Rasulpur, Faridpur, Samodia of Rampur’s Swar Vidhansabha. Voters are being forcibly returned from the polling booth. Take note Election Commission. Ensure fair polling.’
The party claimed in another tweet, ‘Cabinet minister in Uttar Pradesh government Ashish Patel is calling and threatening SP workers to influence the ongoing voting for the by-election in Chanbe assembly seat of Mirzapur. Please take cognizance of the matter, the Election Commission should ensure the safety and fair polling of the SP workers. However, officials denied any irregularities and said the voting was free and fair.
The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) led by former Chief Minister Mayawati has kept distance from this by-election. At the same time, the Congress has fielded its candidate only on the fifth seat. The Swar seat fell vacant due to cancellation of membership of senior SP leader Azam Khan’s son Abdullah Azam Khan following his conviction in a case, while the Chanbe seat fell vacant due to the death of BJP ally Apna Dal (Sonelal) MLA Rahul Kol. vacated since.
After losing the Rampur Sadar seat, the Swar seat has remained the last bastion of SP and Azam Khan in the district. SP is making every possible effort to win the election on this seat. This time SP has nominated Anuradha Chauhan and Apna Dal (Sonelal) has nominated Shafiq Ahmed Ansari. On the other hand, BJP has fielded Rinki Kol, wife of late MLA Rahul Kol, in Chanbe seat. SP has fielded Kirti Kol.
68.12 percent polling in Odisha’s Jharsuguda seat
An official of the commission said that 68.12 percent polling has been done till 5 pm in Jharsuguda assembly seat of Odisha. Polling began at 7 am amid tight security and long queues were seen at many polling stations even before that.
Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Nikunj Bihari Dhal said, ‘‘There is no report of any untoward incident.” Dhal said that due to scorching heat, polling slowed down in the afternoon as Jharsuguda recorded a temperature of 42 degree Celsius at 3 pm. He said drinking water and watermelons were distributed to provide relief to the voters standing in the queue.
Sohyeong assembly seat 91.87 percent polling
Due to the death of UDP candidate HDR Lyngdoh before the assembly elections held in the state on February 27, the by-election is being held on this seat. The counting of votes for all the seats will take place on May 13.
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