The counting of votes is currently underway for bypolls to 13 Assembly seats across seven states, marking the first significant electoral exercise since the Lok Sabha polls that saw the BJP-led NDA form the government for a third straight term. As of now, the INDIA bloc parties — Congress, AAP, TMC, and DMK — are leading in 11 of the 13 assembly seats where bypolls were held on July 10. This strong performance signals a robust challenge to the BJP in these crucial regional contests.
Polling for the Assembly by-elections was held on four seats in West Bengal, three in Himachal Pradesh, two in Uttarakhand, and one each in Bihar, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu.
In West Bengal, the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress is currently leading in all four seats. The Trinamool Congress had previously secured the Maniktala seat in the 2021 West Bengal Assembly elections, while the BJP had won Raiganj, Ranaghat Dakshin, and Bagda. However, the political landscape shifted when the BJP MLAs from these seats switched allegiance to the Trinamool Congress, bolstering its dominance in the state.
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In Himachal Pradesh, the electoral exercise will decide the fate of several key political figures, including veterans and newcomers. Among the notable candidates is Kamlesh Thakur, the wife of Chief Minister and Congress leader Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, who is currently leading in the Dehra constituency against her BJP rival Hoshyar Singh. The Congress is also ahead in Nalagarh, while the BJP maintains a lead in Hamirpur.
The bypolls in Uttarakhand, Bihar, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu have also showcased a strong performance by the INDIA bloc parties. This electoral exercise comes on the heels of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, where the BJP secured 240 seats, falling 32 short of an outright majority. Nevertheless, the NDA managed to surpass the halfway mark with a total tally of 293 seats. The Congress-led INDIA bloc clinched 232 seats, underscoring a fiercely competitive political environment.
The results from these bypolls are being closely watched as they provide insights into the shifting political allegiances and voter sentiments across the states. For the INDIA bloc, the current leads represent a significant momentum boost and a validation of their strategy to unite against the BJP-led NDA. Conversely, for the BJP, these bypolls serve as a critical indicator of areas where they might need to strengthen their outreach and strategies ahead of the next major electoral battles.