Assembly Bypoll Results: Results to be out for five constituencies today

New Delhi (India) June 23: On Monday, the assembly by-election count for the five constituencies in four states began. On June 19 by-elections were held for two Gujarati seats (Visavadar and Kadi assembly seats) and one each in Bengal (Kaliganj), Kerala (Nilambur), and Punjab (Ludhiana West).

The Bharatiya Janata Party candidate is leading the Kadi seat in Gujarat while the Congress candidate is leading the Nilambur (Kerala) seat. The Aam Aadmi Party is leading in two seats in Visavadar (Gujarat) and Ludhiana West (Punjab). The Trinamool Congress is in the lead in West Bengal's Kaliganj seat.

A bye-election was held in Kadi because Karsanbhai Punjabhai Solanki, the current MLA, passed away in February. The difference between BJP candidate Rajendra Chavda and Congress candidate Ramesh Chavda is more than 27,000 votes.

After AAP MLA Gurpreet Gogi died in January of this year from a self-inflicted bullet wound, an election was required in Ludhiana West. Congress candidate Bharat Bhushan Ashu continues to lag AAP candidate Sanjeev Arora by more than 3,200 votes. The former Congress minister received 14,086 votes, compared to 17,358 for Rajya Sabha MP Sanjeev Arora.

Alifa Ahmed, a TMC candidate, is ahead of Congress candidate Kabil Uddin Shaikh by 19,164 votes in Kaliganj, West Bengal.

The resignation of Bhayani Bhupendrabhai Gandu Bhai left the Visavadar seat open. Italia Gopal, a former state president of the AAP is leading BJP contender Kirit Patel by more than 7,200 votes in the Visavadar seat. The congress candidate is in third place with 3,855 votes.

In the Kerala seat, Congress candidate Aryadan Shoukath is ahead of Communist Party of India (Marxist) contender M Swaraj by more than 10,000 votes.

The outcomes will put the BJP and the INDIA alliance to the test politically particularly in West Bengal and Kerala, where elections are scheduled for the following year. Gujarat and Punjab will also be closely watching the AAP's performance, which has been quiet since losing the Delhi Assembly elections.

Aadrika Tayal