Election Update: Bypolls announced on 57 seats in 12 states

Election Commission has announced the by-election date for 56 assembly seats and one Lok Sabha seat in several states including Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Odisha, Nagaland, Manipur. Votes will be cast on these seats on November 3 and counting will be done on November 10. However, the Election Commission has decided that by-elections will not be held for 7 seats in Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal.

The seats that will not go to polls are Rangpara, Sibsagar seat in Assam, Kuttanad and Chavara seats in Kerala, Tiruvottiyur, Gudiyattam (SC) and Falakat (SC) seats in Tamil Nadu.

The Commission has said that such inputs were received from these states, in which it was said that they faced difficulties in conducting elections. The Chief Secretary / Chief Election Officer of Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal sent inputs to the Election Commission. The tenure of the Legislative Assembly in Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Bengal is till 31.05.2021, 24.05.2021 and 30.05.2021 respectively.

The Election Commission said that it has been decided not to hold elections on 7 seats based on the input from these states. After talking to these states later, the Election Commission will decide about the election.

Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly has 28 seats where by-elections will be held. Here many MLAs were disqualified due to party change. On the other hand, the dates for the by-elections in 8 seats of Gujarat have been announced. Votes will be cast on November 3, while counting will take place on November 10. The 8 seats in Gujarat that will go to polls include Botad, Gadhada, Kaprada, Karjan, Dang, Abadasa, Limdi, and Morbi.

The byelection dates have also been announced in UP. Here on November 3, there will be a by-election for 7 seats and the result will come on November 10. There will not be a by-election in Rampur’s Swar seat. Voting for the by-election will also be held on November 3 at Valmiki Nagar, a seat of Lok Sabha from Bihar.