New Delhi, October 6 (Daily Kiran) : Voting for by-elections in five assembly seats and one parliamentary seat began at 7 AM on October 6, 2026, across two states and the Union Territory of Puducherry.
Polling is taking place in Nandigram and Rejingar in West Bengal, Madurantakam and Dharapuram in Tamil Nadu, as well as Thattanchaudi in Puducherry and the Nagaon Lok Sabha seat in Assam. The Nagaon seat became vacant following the resignation of Pradyut Bordoloi.
In West Bengal, the Nandigram assembly seat is up for grabs due to the resignation of current Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari. Similarly, the Rejingar seat became vacant after the resignation of Humayun Kabir, the leader of the Aam Janata Unnayan Party.
Kabir cast his vote in the Rejingar assembly by-election at the Sompara-1 Gram Panchayat office. Speaking to the media, he alleged that police were disrupting the voting process, claiming, “This is not voting. The police are harassing voters openly. For the past two months, they have been targeting Muslim voters, arresting 64 individuals, all of whom are Muslims. Suvendu Adhikari holds the highest constitutional position and should be removed.”
Earlier, on Sunday, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari led a foot march in Nandigram in support of BJP candidate Hasirani Rath, who is the mother of Chandranath Rath, a former associate of Adhikari who was murdered shortly after winning the assembly election.
In Tamil Nadu, voters are also casting their ballots in the Madurantakam and Dharapuram assembly by-elections, as well as in Thattanchaudi in Puducherry. At Dharapuram, voters lined up at 320 polling stations since 7 AM. Over 3,500 police personnel have been deployed for the elections, with approximately 223,000 eligible voters and 22 candidates contesting.
The Election Commission has confirmed that Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and Voter Verified Paper Audit Trails (VVPATs) will be utilized at all polling stations, ensuring a smooth voting process with adequate machines available.
Leave a Comment