The counting of votes for 243 assembly constituencies in Bihar is under way. The National Democratic Alliance is surging ahead of the Mahagathbandhan in Bihar polls. After initial trends showed a close neck-and-neck contest between the two rival alliances, the incumbent Nitish Kumar-led Janata Dal United (JDU) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) alliance seem to be pulling its weight, leading in 132 seats, well above the halfway mark of 122. The BJP is ahead in 77 seats, while the JDU is leading in 47 seats. Tejashwi Yadav’s Rashtriya Janata Dal-led mahagathbandhan of 5 parties is now leading in 101 seats with the party ahead in 58 seats. The Congress is ahead in 19 seats. The polls, first amid the COVID-19 pandemic, will decide the fate of the incumbent Nitish for the 4th term. The three-phased elections ended on November 7.
Regarding the by-elctions in the 10 states across the country, the BJP is currently leading in 20 out of 31 assembly seats.
Madhya Pradesh Bye-Election Results, BJP has 107 MLAs in the 230-member Assembly, and needs at least nine seats to stay in power. The Congress, on the other hand, needs to win all 28 seats – or at least 21 in order to give itself a chance to bargain with the BSP, SP and Independent MLAs, if it wants to return to power. The BJP, which is leading in at least 19 of the 28 bye-election seats in Madhya Pradesh, appears to be in a comfortable position to retain power in the state. The party has also won two seats–Suwasra and Mandhata. The Congress is currently leading in seven seats, while the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) is leading on one seat.
Regarding the UP and Gujarat By-Election Results, the exit polls forecast that the BJP is expected to win five to six seats in UP while in Gujarat, the party is expected to win six to seven seats out of eight. The by poll results for the 15 seats in Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh will be announced today. As per the latest count, the BJP is leading on six seats in UP and all eight seats in Gujarat. Going by the exit polls, the BJP is expected to perform well in both the states. The exit polls forecast that the BJP is expected to win five to six seats in UP while in Gujarat, the party is expected to win six to seven seats out of eight. The by polls were necessitated on seven seats in Uttar Pradesh after the deaths of sitting MLAs. The Tundla seat fell vacant after its MLA, S P Singh Baghel, was elected to the Lok Sabha, while the Bangarmau seat in Unnao fell vacant after the conviction of BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar in a rape case. Barring Malhani, the other six seats were ruled by BJP MLAs.
The result of three of five Assembly seats in Manipur has been declared. The BJP won two Assembly seats in Manipur – Singhat and Wangoi and is leading in two constituencies, while an Independent candidate Y Antas Khan bagged one seat – Lilong.
In Karnataka, The saffron party won two seats in Karnataka bypolls.
Meantime, Congress has gained early lead in the only seat in Haryana while BJP is ahead in Telangana’s one seat. In Nagaland, an Independent candidate was leading in both seats. Biju Janata Dal is ahead in both seats in Odisha while in Jharkhand, both BJP and Congress are leading in one seat each.
The by polls in Chattisgarh, Haryana, Telangana were held to fill one vacant Assembly seat each. The number of seats that were vacant in Gujarat are 8, Karnataka and Jharkhand, Odisha and Nagaland 2, Manipur 5 and Uttar Pradesh 7.
