BJP’s Pradhumansinh Jadeja is leading by over 2,300 votes in Abdasa seat while former minister Kiritsinh Rana is ahead by 5,400 votes in Limbdi, among other candidates.

Candidates of the ruling BJP in Gujarat are leading in seven out of the eight Assembly constituencies for which bypolls were held while the Congress is ahead in one seat, as per the early trends of counting on Tuesday.

BJP’s Pradhumansinh Jadeja is leading by over 2,300 votes in Abdasa seat while former minister Kiritsinh Rana is ahead by 5,400 votes in Limbdi, among other candidates.

Congress’ Jayantilal Patel is leading in Morbi constituency by a margin of more than 1,500 votes, as per the Election Commission data.

The counting began at 8 am in eight centres set up in these constituencies, an election official said.

The bypolls were necessitated after sitting Congress MLAs resigned ahead of Rajya Sabha polls in June this year.

Five of them then joined the ruling BJP, which fielded them from the same seats they had won in the 2017 elections.

A 60.75 per cent voter turnout was recorded in the bypolls held on November 3 in Abdasa (Kutch), Limbdi (Surendranagar), Morbi (Morbi district), Dhari (Amreli), Gadhada (Botad), Karjan (Vadodara), Dang (Dang district) and Kaprada (Valsad) Assembly seats.

As many as 81 candidates contested the bypolls across the eight seats.

MP bypolls: In early trends, BJP leads in 6 seats, Congress in two

The ruling BJP in Madhya Pradesh is leading in six of the 28 Assembly constituencies for which byelections were held while the Congress is ahead in two seats, as per the early trends of counting on Tuesday.

BJP’s Tulsiram Silawat is leading from Sanver, while Rajvardhan Singh Dattigaon is ahead in Badnawar, Brajendra Singh Yadav from Mungaoli, Narayan Singh Pawar from Biora, Hardeep Singh Dung from Suwasara, and Jajpal Singh Jajji from Ashok Nagar against their rivals from the Congress.

Congress’ Vipin Wankhede and Rajendra Singh Baghel are ahead against their challengers from the BJP in Agar and Hatpipalya constituencies, respectively.

The counting began at 8 am in 19 districts where the by-elections were held on November 3, an election official said.

The BJP needs to win at least eight of these 28 seats to attain a simple majority in the 230-member Assembly, whose effective strength is 229.

The BJP currently has 107 MLAs, while the Congress has 87 legislators in the House.

Baroda bypoll: Congress candidate Indu Raj leading over BJP’s Yogeshwar Dutt .

Congress candidate Indu Raj Narwal is leading over his nearest rival and BJP nominee Yogeshwar Dutt by a margin of 2,843 votes from the Baroda Assembly seat in Haryana, as per initial trends.

After the fourth round of counting, Narwal polled 11,504 votes while Dutt got 8,661, as per Election Commission data.

The counting of votes for the bypoll to the Baroda assembly seat began at 8 am on Tuesday.

There will be 20 rounds of counting.

Three-tier security has been provided at the counting centre in Sonipat’s Mohana, the officials said.

The polling on November 3 for the Baroda assembly seat had recorded an overall turnout of 68.57 per cent, sealing the fate of 14 candidates.

The Baroda assembly seat fell vacant in April following the death of Congress MLA Shri Krishan Hooda, who had won it thrice consecutively in the 2009, 2014 and 2019 assembly polls.

Karnataka bypolls: Trends show BJP leading in both seats .

The ruling BJP is leading ahead of opposition Congress and JD(S) in the bypolls held for two assembly constituencies in the state, poll officials said on Tuesday.

Votes polled in the November 3 bypolls to Sira in Tumakuru district and Rajarajeshwari Nagar (R R Nagar) in the city were taken up for counting at 8 am and the results are expected to be out by afternoon.

According to the Karnataka Chief Electoral Officer’s office, the trends show- BJP’s Dr C M Rajesh Gowda is leading with 8,919 votes in Sira, followed by Congress’ T B Jayachandra with 7,577.

JD(S)’ Ammajamma B is in third place with 4842 votes.

In R R Nagar too BJP’s N Munirathana is leading with 22,845 votes, followed by Congress’ Kusuma H with 11,121.

JD(S) is in third place here too with party candidate V Krishtramurthy so far securing 728 votes.

The bypoll has been necessitated in Sira following the death of JD(S) MLA B Sathyanarayana in August, while R R Nagar seat here fell vacant due to disqualification of the then Congress MLA N Munirathna last year under anti-defection law.

If Rajesh Gowda, a radiologist wins Sira, this will be the BJP’s first ever win in the assembly segment.

He is the son of former Congress MP C P Mudalagiriyappa, and had recently joined the party.

His opponent is 71-year-old Congress leader T B Jayachandra, a six time MLA and former Minister who had lost to Sathyanarayana of JD(S) during 2018 assembly polls.

The JD(S) with an eye on sympathy votes had fielded Ammajamma, wife of late MLA Sathyanarayana.

Jayachandra is currently under treatment in hospital for COVID-19.

In RR Nagar, if Munirathna wins this will be his third consecutive victory and first as the BJP candidate.

He had won the seat in 2013 and 2018 assembly polls on the Congress’ ticket.

Munirathna, after his disqualification last year, had joined the BJP.

The party gave his ticket after he was cleared by the courts of the charges of election malpractices, despite stiff resistance from within.

He is pitted against fresh faces, the Congress has fielded Kusuma H, wife of late IAS officer D K Ravi and V Krishnamurthy is the JD(S) candidate.

Some exit polls had indicated that BJP will sweep RR Nagar and Sira bypolls, but the opposition parties have rejected the predictions.

It was said that the bypoll results would be seen in many quarters as a reflection on Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa led government’s performance, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic.

While the Congress and JD(S) were keen to strike after facing a rout in December 2019 bypolls, the BJP is aiming to keep its winning streak intact.

BJD candidates lead over BJP rivals in Odisha bypolls .

The ruling BJD candidates have established early leads over their nearest BJP rivals in both Balasore and Tirtol assembly constituencies, where counting of votes polled in the by-elections held last week is in progress on Tuesday.

As per early trends, BJD’s Bijay Shankar Das was leading over BJP candidate Rajkishore Behera by 1,078 votes in Tirtol seat in Jagatsinghpur district, election officials said.

Das has polled 3,852 votes so far, while Behera has bagged 2,774 votes.

Congress nominee Himanshu Bhushan Mallick has got 442 votes.

In Balasore, BJD candidate Swarup Kumar Das was leading over his nearest BJP nominee Manas Kumar Dutta by 615 votes.

Das has bagged 3,459 votes while Dutta closely followed with 2,844 votes.

Congress candidate Mamata Kundu was trailing in third place with 523 votes.

The deaths of Balasore’s BJP MLA Madan Mohan Dutta and Tirtol’s BJD legislator Bishnu Charan Das necessitated the by-elections which were held on November 3.

Chhattisgarh bypoll: Congress candidate leading in Marwahi seat .

The Congress contestant is leading by a margin of 3,664 votes in Marwahi Assembly constituency in Chhattisgarh, where counting of votes is underway.

The seat, reserved for Scheduled Tribes (ST) candidates, falls in the newly formed Gaurela-Pendra-Marwahi district.

“The counting of votes in the bypoll held on November 3 in Marwahi seat began at 8 am at the Government Gurukul Vidyalaya, Gaurela,” a poll official said.

As per the early trends, Dr KK Dhruw of the Congress is leading by a margin of 3,664 votes against his nearest rival Dr Gambheer Singh of the BJP, he said.

The ruling Congress and main opposition BJP are locked in a direct fight in this seat where a bypoll was necessitated after Janata Congress Chhattisgarh (J) sitting MLA and former chief minister Ajit Jogi died on May 29.

Nagaland bypoll: Independent candidates leading in both seats

Independent candidates were leading in bypolls to Southern Angami I and Pungro Kiphire seats in Nagaland as per early trends.

Independent candidate Seyievilie Peter Zashumo was leading over his nearest rival Medo Yhokha of the Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP) by 922 votes in the Southern Angami I seat, as per the ECI website.

In the Pungro Kiphire constituency, Independent candidate T Yangsea Sangtam was leading over his nearest rival and BJP nominee Lirimong Sangtam by 1,161 votes.

The by-elections were held in Southern Angami-I and Pungro-Khipre seats on November 3 after the death of sitting legislators Vikho-o Yhoshu and T Torechu respectively.

Jharkhand bypoll: BJP leading in both Dumka, Bermo .

BJP candidates were leading in bypolls to Dumka and Bermo assembly seats in Jharkhand, as per early trends.

BJP candidate Lois Marandi was leading over his nearest rival Basant Soren of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) by over 7,938 votes in the Dumka seat, as per the ECI website.

In the Bermo Assembly constituency, BJP candidate Yogeshwar Mahto “Batul” was leading over his nearest rival Kumar Jaimangal (Anup Singh) of the Indian National Congress by a 455 votes.

By-election to the Dumka seat was necessitated as Chief Minister Heman Soren vacated the seat and retained the Barhait constituency.

By-election to the Berma seat was necessitated due to the death of sitting MLA Rajendra Singh.

Nitish Kumar had in one of his rallies termed it his “last election”. Will it be the sushasan babu’s last bow after 15 years at the helm in Bihar? Or will he return mocking most exit poll predictions.

Despite exit polls giving an edge for the RJD-led Mahagathbandhan over the NDA in Bihar, the latter has moved above the half-way majority. 

As per the latest numbers, the ruling NDA has crossed the magic number of 122. 

The poll outcome will decide the fate of the Nitish Kumar government that has been at the helm in Bihar for over 15 years. Most exit polls on Saturday predicted that the ruling JD(U)-BJP combine will have to make way for the RJD-led Mahagathbandhan.

The Bihar assembly elections for 243 sets took place on October 28 (for 71 seats), November 3 (for 94 seats) and November 7 (for 78 seats).

As the state awaits the verdict of a closely-fought election, the Election Commission has made elaborate arrangements for the counting of votes on November 10. The poll panel has set up 55 counting centres in 414 halls, spread across all the 38 districts of the state. 

Face masks have been made mandatory for those arriving at counting centres. This apart, hand sanitisers will be available in abundance at the centres. 

Patna: With exit polls predicting victory for the RJD-led Grand Alliance, the party Sunday warned its workers against indulging in celebratory firing and “uncivil behaviour” towards rivals on the day of counting of votes on November 10, irrespective of the results.

In a tweet addressed to its workers, the party said, “Whatever the election results are on November 10, it has to be accepted with absolute restraint, simplicity and courtesy.

“Improper fireworks, celebratory firing and uncivil behaviour towards our rivals or their supporters will not be accepted at any cost,” it said.

The votes will be counted on November 10, a day after RJDs chief ministerial candidate Tejashwi Yadav celebrates his 32nd birthday.

The instructions to the party workers to behave decently on the counting day is part of Tejashwi’s efforts to do away with “rowdy behaviour” prevalent on such occasions in the past and establish a new culture.

Multiple exit polls released Saturday evening have predicted the Mahagathbandhan to win a majority in the 243- strong Bihar assembly.

RJD’s Bihar unit president Jagdanand Singh said the partymen have been told to accept the results of the polls with “all humility.” Praising Tejashwi, Singh said “while Lalu Prasad is the centre of ‘astha’ (faith), Tejashwi is the centre of ‘wyavastha’ (arrangements) of the party.”

Singh, a close confidante of Lalu Prasad, told the partymen that Tejashwi laboured hard to win peoples faith in the party and its duty of everybody to maintain it.

RJD spokesman Mrityunjay Tiwari said the partys own assessment from their sources on ground suggests that it will win more seats than predicted in exit polls.

“There is a wave in support of Mahagathbandhan and Tejashwi Yadav. We will win with a two-thirds majority,” he told PTI.

The RJDs election campaign was centred on Tejashwi Yadavs promise of providing 10 lakh governments jobs to youths in Bihar.

Its rival kept attacking the party over its record on and law and order, and also berated as “jungle raj” during the 15-year rule of Lalu Prasad and Rabri Devi.

In a rally during the polls, BJP chief JP Nadda had assailed the RJD over its reputation of preferring muscle power to ideology, saying the party has a history of conducting ‘Tail Piyawan, Danda Bhanjan (dipping lathis in oil and wielding them to assert power)’ rally.

Naddas reference to Tel Piyawan, Danda Bhanjan was a throwback to an RJD rally in 2003, two years before the party was ousted from power in Bihar.

As the name suggests, the party workers and supporters carrying ‘lathi’ (stick) had participated in that rally at Gandhi maidan in the state capital.

In its second tweet on Sunday, the RJD asked its workers to keep in mind that irrespective of the results “at the centre of your politics is public upliftment and their convenience”.

The Bihar Pradesh Congress Committee chief also said the Tejashwi Yadav-led ‘Mahagathbandhan’ will get a clear majority in the polls and the Congress will “definitely” do better.

NEW DELHI: Dubbing the AIMIM as the BJP’s “B-team”, Congress’ Bihar unit chief Madan Mohan Jha on Thursday accused the Asaduddin Owaisi-led party of colluding with the BJP, but said it will not have any significant impact on the assembly polls as people will not “waste” their votes.

The Bihar Pradesh Congress Committee chief also said the Tejashwi Yadav-led ‘Mahagathbandhan’ will get a clear majority in the polls and the Congress will “definitely” do better in terms of winning percentage on the seats contested as compared with the 2015 polls.

Jha said the All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (AIMIM) will not be able to cut into the ‘Mahagathbandhan’ vote share as its voters will vote intelligently and not let even one vote go waste.

The assertion assumes significance as it comes ahead of Bihar Assembly elections’ third phase which is set to see a triangular contest with the AIMIM entering the poll dynamics on many seats in the Seemanchal belt, which has a substantial Muslim population, to challenge the National Democratic Alliance and the RJD-led grand alliance.

The AIMIM is in the fray on 20 seats in Bihar polls, a majority of which go to polls in the third phase on November 7, as part of the Grand Democratic Secular Front that has four other parties, including Upendra Kushwaha’s Rashtriya Lok Samta Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party.

Asked if the Owaisi-led AIMIM can cut into the Mahagathbandhan vote and affect its poll prospects in the third phase, Jha said, “The person you are talking about, the voters you are saying he could impact are very intelligent. They will not waste even a single vote. All voters will cast their vote intelligently.”

“Yes, in one or two seats his strong candidates could have an impact, but the voters in general will not be swayed. I am confident the voters will not make a wrong decision,” the Congress leader said.

On the assertions that Owaisi and his allies could be “vote cutters”, Jha said every one knows whose team they are and from where they are guided.

The state from which Owaisi comes, he is not strengthening his party there but is giving tension to people in other states, Jha said.

The AIMIM had won a seat in the bypolls, but this is an assembly election and voters vote very carefully and intelligently in these polls, he asserted.

Jha said Owaisi’s party was “definitely” BJP’s ‘B-team’.

“They are colluding with the BJP and look at their candidates, they give tickets as per the BJP’s wishes,” he said.

Asked if he believes that Owaisi’s alliance partners were also the BJP’s ‘B-team’, Jha said look at the stance taken by those who are with Owaisi and one would know the answer.

He said his statement that AIMIM and its allies were the ‘B-team’ of the BJP was based on what people of Seemanchal told him when he toured the area recently and he was just conveying their sentiments.

Jha said the ‘Mahagathbandhan’ had done really well in the two phases of the polls gone by and the trend has shown that a grand alliance government is going to be formed under the leadership of Tejashwi Yadav.

The Bihar Congress chief said he does not want to exactly predict any numbers, but was confident that the grand alliance will get a clear majority.

“Great enthusiasm was visible among the people at the four public meetings held by Rahul Gandhi in the last two days. Even the public meetings of Tejashwi ji, they are much bigger than the public meetings of the Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) and the Chief Minister (Nitish Kumar),” Jha said.

Asked if the grand alliance government comes to power will the Congress get the post of deputy CM, Jha said he does not want to comment on it as this was not an issue that is relevant right now.

On Prime Minister Modi’s sharp attacks at the grand alliance, Jha claimed that the people of Bihar were “not taking his remarks seriously” and alleged that he was making statements not befitting of the prime minister’s post.

Jha also said that the alliance between the BJP and Nitish Kumar’s JD(U) was an opportunistic one and therefore, the bitterness between them was visible from time to time.

Asked about Lok Janshakti Party chief Chirag Paswan and the impact he would have on the polls, Jha said some LJP candidates were having an impact in some constituencies, but whether he would have a role post polls, the people of Bihar will decide.

On whether the Mahagathbandhan would be open to an alliance with Paswan post polls, he said, “We will get a majority on our own and will not have to join hands with anyone.”

Polling in 71 and 94 constituencies, out of the 243 Assembly seats, was held in the first two phases on October 28 and November 3 respectively.

The remaining 78 seats will go to polls on November 7 and the counting of votes will take place on November 10.

Patna (Bihar): An estimated 7.70 per cent of the total 2.35 crore electors exercised their franchise till 9 am in the 78 assembly seats of Bihar where the third and final phase of elections were underway on Saturday.

The poll opened at 7 am in these seats spread across 15 districts of north Bihar. According to the Election Commission, the polling percentage at 9 am was 7.69.

The maximum 10.67 per cent turnout till 9 am was recorded in the Araria district, and the minimum (5.36 per cent) in the Katihar district.

The turnout in the first phase till 9 am was 6.74 per cent, while in the second phase it was 8.05 per cent.

Voting is being held simultaneously in the Valmiki Nagar Lok Sabha seat, where a bypoll has been necessitated due to the death of JD(U) MP Baidyanath Mahto.

It has recorded a turnout of 7.89 per cent till 9 am. The first phase of voting for the 243-strong assembly took place on October 28 and the second phase on November 3.

The votes will be counted on November 10.