By-election in Wayanad today: Priyanka Gandhi Vadra trials her fate

Delhi, Nov 13: By-election for the Wayanad Lok Sabha Constituency in Kerala is being conducted today. Gandhi family legacy Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is trying her fate here from the Congress bastion.

Apart from it, voting is underway in the by-elections for as many as 31 Assembly seats across 10 states.

Along with Wayanad, seven seats in Rajasthan, six in West Bengal, five in Assam, four seats in Bihar, three in Karnataka, two seats in Madhya Pradesh, and one seat each in Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Kerala, and Meghalaya will also witness the bypoll contest. Votes will be counted on November 23.

Formal voting was also postponed for two seats in Sikkim -- Soreng-Chakung and Namchi-Singhithang, Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM) nominees Aditya Golay and Satish Chandra Rai were declared unopposed after their rivals withdrew from the electoral race. 

In Kerala, the Wayanad seat was vacated by Rahul Gandhi, who also won from the Raebareli parliamentary constituency which he kept.

The other seat going to bypolls is Chelakkara in Thrissur district.

In Rajasthan, bypolls are being held in Jhunjhunu, Dausa, Deoli-Uniara, Khinvsar, Chaurasi, Salumbar, and Ramgarh. In Salumbar and Ramgarh, the bye-elections were necessitated due to the demise of the sitting MLAs -- Amritlal Meena (BJP) and Zubair Khan (Congress) respectively.

In West Bengal, the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) had won five of the six seats -- Taldangra, Sitai (SC), Naihati, Haroa, Medinipur, and Madarihat -- in the 2021 Assembly polls. The Madarihat seat was held by the BJP.

In Assam, a total of 34 candidates are in the fray in the state for the five seats going to bypolls -- Dholai, Behali, Samaguri, Bongaigaon, and Sidli. The INDIA bloc could not build on a consensus in deciding the candidate for Behali with the Congress deciding to field its candidate at the last moment, disagreeing with the alliance's resolution to give the seat to CPI(ML) Liberation. Apart from Jayanta Borah (Congress) and Diganta Ghatowal (BJP), Lakhikanta Kurmi from CPI(ML) Liberation as a united opposition candidate and Ananta Gogoi from AAP are also in the fray in Behali.

In Bihar, bypolls are being held in the Ramgarh, Tarari, Imamganj, and Belaganj seats.

Similarly, in Karnataka, JD(S) leader Nikhil Kumaraswamy is contesting from Channapatna, a seat vacated by his father and Union Minister H D Kumaraswamy after being elected to Lok Sabha. The BJP has fielded former Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai's son, Bharath Bommai, from Shiggaon. He will face Congress candidate Yasir Ahmed Khan Pathan. Bypolls will also be held in Sandur in the state.