NEW DELHI : Bypolls elections were held in several parts of the country, the counting of which was conducted today. The by-elections were held in Bengal's Asansol Lok Sabha seat and assembly seats in Bengal's Ballygunge, Khairagarh in Chhattisgarh, Bochahan in Bihar and Kolhapur North in Maharashtra.

       The Election Commission of India had announced byelections for these seats on 12 March this year. The counting of votes began at 8 am on 16 April.

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       While turncoats led the wagon for Trinamool Congress in West Bengal, it was RJD versus NDA in Bihar.

       The bypolls held in Khairagarh assembly seat was due to the death of Janata Congress Chhattisgarh (J) MLA Devvrat Singh. On the other hand, elections became necessary in Kolhapur North assembly seat after sitting Congress MLA Chandrakant Jadhav died of Covid-19 in December of last year

       The developments in the bypolls you should know

       West Bengal By-elections

       In perhaps the most keenly watched bypolls, TMC registered clear victory in both the Asansol Lok Sabha seat and Ballygunge Assembly seat.

       Shatrughan Sinha, TMC's candidate from Asansol Lok Sabha seat, won the bypoll with a huge margin. Sinha's win registers the party's first-ever electoral victory in the Asansol constituency.

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       Shatrughan Sinha’s lead over BJP’s Agnimitra Paul surpassed Babul Supriyo’s (then BJP leader) margin in 2019. Babul won the seat in 2019 with a margin of 1,97,637 votes. The verdict is a complete swing in favour of TMC.

       TMC’s Babul Supriyo won the Ballygunge Assembly seat. Babul Supriyo defeated his nearest Left rival Saira Shah Halim by a margin of 19,904 votes. Babul Supriyo secured 50,996 votes from Ballygunge, while his rivals Saira Shah Halim (CPM) got 30,940 votes, Kamruzzaman Chowdhury (Congress) got 5205 votes and Keya Ghosh (BJP) had only 13,174 votes.

       Bihar By-elections

       The opposition RJD in Bihar wrested the Bochahan assembly seat from the ruling NDA, with its candidate defeating the BJP nominee by a large margin of over 35,000 votes.

       RJD candidate Amar Paswan, whose father Musafir Paswan’s death had necessitated the by-election, polled 82,116 votes while his nearest BJP rival Baby Kumari got only 45,353.

       RJD wins Bochahan Assembly seat in Bihar bypolls, as per Election Commission pic.twitter.com/jmBQxhspcG

       — ANI (@ANI) April 16, 2022

       Expelled state minister Mukesh Sahani’s Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP), on the ticket of which Musafir Paswan had won the seat in 2020, finished a distant third with 29,671 votes.

       VIP was an NDA constituent till about a month ago.

       Chhattisgarh By-elections

       The Congress candidate has been maintaining a significant lead by a margin of over 15,000 votes in the Khairagarh Assembly bypoll, where the counting was underway on Saturday, officials said. Both the ruling Congress and opposition BJP are eyeing victory in the constituency, which falls in naxal-hit Rajnandgaon district, where by-election was necessitated after Janata Congress Chhattisgarh (J) MLA and former MP Devvrat Singh died in November last year.

       A byelection was held in Khairagarh assembly seat due to the death of Janata Congress Chhattisgarh (J) MLA Devvrat Singh. In this case, voter turnout was 78%. The postal ballots will be counted first, followed by the EVM.

       The counting will continue for 21 rounds on 14 tables. Ten candidates ran for the Khairagarh assembly seat, but the fight was expected to be between Yashoda Verma of the Congress and Komal Janghel of the BJP.

       Chhattisgarh | Counting of votes for Khairagarh Assembly by-election being held today. Visuals from a counting centre in Rajnandgaon. pic.twitter.com/XlYkwHbNMH

       — ANI MP/CG/Rajasthan (@ANI_MP_CG_RJ) April 16, 2022

       Maharashtra By-elections

       In a boost to the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) combine in Maharashtra, the Congress on Saturday won the bypoll to the Kolhapur North Assembly constituency, retaining the seat by defeating the BJP by a margin of over 18,000 votes. Congress-MVA candidate Jayashri Jadhav bagged 96,176 votes, while BJP's Satyajeet Kadam polled 77,426 votes.

       There was a 60% turnout on Tuesday. There were 15 candidates running for this seat, but the contest was expected to be between the Congress and the BJP. In Maharashtra, the Congress is a constituent of the Maha Vikas Aghadi government.

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