Oppn I-N-D-I-A bloc to face first electoral test in Tuesday bypolls

Polling will be held on Tuesday for byelection to seven Assembly seats in six states the first electoral test of the INDIA opposition bloc against the BJPWhile the opposition alliance is putting up a united front in Ghosi constituency in Uttar Pradesh Jharkhands Dumri Dhanpur and Boxanagar in Tripura and Uttarakhands Bageshwar its constituents are contesting against each other in Dhupguri in West Bengal and Puthuppally in KeralaCounting of votes will be held on September 8In Uttar Pradesh Ghosi seat fell vacant after the resignation of Samajwadi Party SP MLA and OBC leader Dara Singh Chauhan who rejoined the BJPWhile the ruling BJPled NDA has fielded Chauhan Samajwadi Party candidate Sudhakar Singh has got the support of the Congress and Left parties Chauhan was a minister in the previous BJP government headed by Yogi Adityanath He had resigned from the Council of Ministers on January 12 2022 and switched to the SPCampaigning has been highpitched as both sides are aware that it is a litmus test for the opposition unity and a victory could set the trend in their favour for the Lok Sabha polls next year In the 543member Lok Sabha Uttar Pradesh has 80 MPsUttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath led the BJPs charge Interestingly SP chief Akhilesh Yadav who had skipped campaigning for the other two prestigious bypolls in Rampur and Azamgarh last year addressed an election meeting in GhosiHe said the election would bring a change in the countrys politicsThe Dhupguri assembly constituency in north Bengal is witnessing a threecornered contest among the TMC BJP and the Congresssupported CPIMWhile the TMC had won the seat in 2016 it was snatched by the BJP in 2021In Dhanpur and Boxanagar assembly seats in Tripuras Sepahijala district Chief Minister Manik Saha led the partys campaign from the frontTipra Motha the main opposition and Congress have stayed away The Tripura Pradesh Congress on Sunday urged people to vote for opposition bloc INDIA candidates in the two seatsBJPs Tafajjal Hussain who unsuccessfully contested the Assembly election in February will take on CPIMs Mizan Hussain in minoritydominated Boxanagar constituency still considered the Left partys strongholdDhanpur once a strong bastion of the communists is heading for a direct fight between BJPs Bindu Debnath and CPIMs Kaushik DebnathAll necessary arrangements have been made for conducting free fair and peaceful elections Additional Chief Electoral Officer UG Mog told PTIThe international border has been sealed to prevent any intrusion from Bangladesh as both constituencies share a boundary with the neighbouring country a senior police officer said adding that there will be adequate security to ensure peaceful votingIn Jharkhands Dumri INDIA bloc candidate Bebi Devi is locked in a direct contest with NDA candidate Yashoda DeviThe seat has turned out to be a prestigious one for both alliances amid Jharkhand Mukti Morcha JMM claiming that the INDIA bloc will begin its victory journey from Dumri while the NDA exuded confidence that it is all set to snatch the seat from JMMThe INDIA bloc includes 28 parties including the Congress NCP faction led by Sharad Pawar Shiv Sena UBT TMC JMM AAP DMK NC PDP CPIM CPI RJD SP and RLDThe byelection was necessitated following the death of JMM MLA Jagarnath Mahto former education minister in April Mahto had been representing the seat since 2004However the Congress and the ruling Left will take on each other at the Puthuppally bypoll in Kerala with the opposition party in the state banking on antiincumbency and the late Oommen Chandys legacyThe Congressled UDF opposition has fielded Chandys son Chandy Oommen to benefit from the sympathy wave following the former CMs deathOn the other hand the ruling Left once again decided to go with DYFI leader Jaick C Thomas who had unsuccessfully contested from the segment in 2016 and 2021 against the late ChandyThe BJP has fielded its Kottayam district president G LijinlalThe BJP and the Congress are in a straight contest in Uttarakhand The ruling BJP has fielded Parvati Das as it seeks to retain the seat It was won by her husband Chandan Das in four consecutive elections since 2007 and his death necessitated the bypollUttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami and other top BJP leaders campaigned for DasCongress heavyweights like Harish Rawat PCC president Karan Mahara and Leader of Opposition in the state assembly Yashpal Arya had also been camping in Bageshwar for the past few days to garner support for party candidate Basant KumarIn July the opposition alliance formed to take on the ruling BJPled NDA in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections announced that it would be called the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance INDIAThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter 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