Round 2 of NDA, INDIA bloc battle: 13 Assembly bypolls, from key Bengal seats to prestige Himachal, Punjab fights

Following the Lok Sabha elections, battle lines have been drawn between the ruling BJP-led NDA and the Opposition INDIA alliance for the by-elections in 13 Assembly constituencies across the country.

The Lok Sabha poll results saw the BJP falling short of a simple majority, even as the INDIA bloc improved its tally and heft significantly.

The 13 Assembly bypolls, scheduled for July 10 in seven states, have been necessitated either due to vacancies created due to deaths or resignations of incumbent MLAs from different parties.

These seats include Rupauli in Bihar; Raiganj, Ranaghat Dakshin, Bagda and Maniktala in West Bengal; Vikravandi in Tamil Nadu; Amarwara in Madhya Pradesh; Badrinath and Manglaur in Uttarakhand; Jalandhar West in Punjab; and Dehra, Hamirpur and Nalagarh in Himachal Pradesh.

Of the four seats going for bypolls in Bengal, three seats were won by the BJP and one by the Trinamool Congress (TMC) in the 2021 Assembly elections. With the TMC having momentum after its impressive Lok Sabha poll performance – where it won 29 seats of 42 as against the BJP’s 12 – the BJP has its task cut out.

The Maniktala seat fell vacant after the demise of sitting TMC leader Sadhan Pandey in 2022. The party has fielded his wife Supti Pandey for the upcoming bypoll. The BJP has fielded All India Football Federation (AIFF) chief Kalyan Chaubey against her.

In the 2021 elections too, Chaubey had contested from the same seat on the BJP’s ticket, but lost to Sadhan Pandey, former minister. He challenged the result in the Calcutta High Court, alleging irregularities and demanding a recount of votes. As a result of the petition, a bypoll could not be held in Maniktala even after Pandey’s death in February 2022. Chaubey withdrew the