AAP’s lead over BJP in the fifth counting round is cut to over 1,000 votes in the Rajinder Nagar meeting bypoll. The vote count is underway on June 26 in three Lok Sabha and seven congressional seats across five states and Delhi, where opinion polls were held on June 23. The counting started at 8:00 am under multi-layered security. First, the ballots are counted, and then the EVMs are opened. Tripura has the four highest seats – Agartala, Jubarajnagar, Surma, and Town Bardowali. Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha is one of the key candidates whose fate will be decided. Mr. Saha, fighting from Bardowali, must win this election to remain Prime Minister.
Lok Sabha bypolls were held in Rampur and Azamgarh constituencies in Uttar Pradesh and Sangrur seats in Punjab. The bypolls in Uttar Pradesh were necessitated by the resignation of Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and party leader Azam Khan from Azamgarh and Rampur seats. The other constituencies where the assembly by-polls were held were Rajinder Nagar in Delhi, Mandar in the Ranchi district of Jharkhand, and Atmakuru in Andhra Pradesh.
It is a crucial test for both the Samajwadi Pand Aam Aadmi parties. The results, announced on Sunday, will show whether the Samajwadi party can keep its strongholds despite its defeat in the parliamentary elections. For the AAP, the election following the assassination of Sidhu Moosewala, who raised charges of disrupting law and order in the state, will test whether the popularity of the Bhagwant Mann government can withstand the outcry.
Here are the latest updates
11.29 am | Rajinder Nagar by poll
AAP’s lead over BJP in the fifth round is cut to over 1,000 votes
AAP candidate Durgesh Pathak led his BJP rival Rajesh Bhatia by a margin of more than 1,000 votes at the end of the fifth round of vote counting for the Rajinder Nagar meeting on Sunday morning. Pathak led by more than 1,500 votes at the start of the count, but the lead had narrowed to 1,153 by the end of the fifth round as the vote count began on Sunday morning. After the fifth round, Mr. Pathak won nearly 50% of the votes counted, according to official data shared by authorities.- PTI
11.25 am | Tripura by poll
BJP leads in 3 seats, Congress in 1
Election staff with an electronic voting machine (EVM) during the vote counting of the Tripura Assembly by-elections at a counting center in Agartala on June 26, 2022. BJP candidates, including Chief Minister Manik Saha, led by three seats, while Congress was in the lead in one constituency as votes were counted in Tripura. Mr. Saha led after six rounds with 4,363 votes in the city’s Bardowali seat. According to Election Commission data, he has 12,556 votes, while his closest congressional rival Asish Kumar Saha won 8,193 votes.
In the Agartala seats, congressional candidate Sudip Roy Barma led by 3,202 votes after eight rounds. He got 17,241 votes, while Ashok Sinha of the BJP got 14,039. The CPI(M) followed in its traditional bastion of Jubarajnagar to the BJP. After eight rounds, BJP candidate Malina Debnath was in the lead with 4,320 points. She got 18,381 votes, while her closest candidate Shailendra Chandra Nath of the CPI(M), got 14,061 votes. The BJP also led in Surma with its candidate Swapna Das after two counting rounds with 1,806 votes in favor. She received 4,457 votes, while Anjan Das of CPI(M) received 2,651.- PTI
10.50 am | Sangrur by poll
SAD (Amritsar) candidate Simranjit Singh Mann continues to lead
Simranjit Singh Mann of Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) leads with 4,831 votes, taking 1,35,700 votes until 10:40 am. Gurmail Singh of the ruling Aam Aadmi party is lagging, getting 1,30,869 votes, according to India’s Election Commission.- Vikas Vasudeva
10:45 am | Uttar Pradesh
SP candidates lead in Rampur and Azamgarh
The candidates of the Samajwadi party took the lead in both Rampur and Azamgarh Lok Sabha seats, the count of which started on Sunday morning. According to the available trends, SP candidate Mohd Asim Raja has a lead of more than 9,987 votes in Rampur over his closest rival, Ghanshyam Lodhi of the BJP.
In Azamgarh, SP’s Dharmendra Yadav leads BJP candidate Dinesh Lal Yadav ‘Nirahua’, his closest rival, with 4,917 votes. Shah Alam of BSP, aka Guddu Jamali, ranks third in Azamgarh. While in Rampur, there is a direct battle between SP and BJP, Azamgarh witnesses a triangle match with BSP forming the third corner. – PTI
10:20 am | Rajinder Nagar by poll
Durgesh Pathak of AAP leads in the first round
AAP candidate Durgesh Pathak led the count over his BJP rival Rajesh Bhatia by a margin of more than 1,500 votes in the Rajinder Nagar Assembly bypoll when the vote counting began on Sunday morning.
After the first round of counting, Mr. Pathak had won nearly 64% of the votes counted, according to official data shared by the authorities. Mr . Bhatia was behind him, with 32.26% of the votes counted in the first round.
According to official data, congressional candidate Prem Lata trailed behind with a meager 2.09% vote share, – PTI
10:20 am | Uttar Pradesh
SP candidate leads in Rampur, BJP ahead in Azamgarh
The Samajwadi party candidate led in the Rampur Lok Sabha seat, while the BJP nominee led the way in Azamgarh, counting for Sunday morning.
According to the available trends, SP candidate Mohd Asim Raja leads by more than 767 votes in Rampur. In comparison, BJP candidate Dinesh Lal Yadav leads ‘Nirahua’ by a margin of 2,117 votes from BSP’s Shah Alam alias Guddu Jamali.
Dharmendra Yadav of the SP is in third place. – PTI
10:20 am | Sangrur by poll
Early Trends Show SAD (Amritsar) Leader Simranjit Mann Leading
Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) leader and candidate Simranjit Singh Mann leads from the Sangrur Lok Sabha seat, whose counting began on Sunday morning, according to early trends.
MThe trends indicated that r.Mann, a former MP, leads by a margin of 856 votes from his closest rival and AAP candidate Gurmail Singh; counting votes for the bypoll for the Sangrur Lok Sabha seat in Punjab began Sunday morning amid tight security arrangements. – PTI
10:15 am | Uttar Pradesh
Counting of votes underway for Rampur, Azamgarh Lok Sabha bypolls
The vote counting for the bij polls for Rampur and Azamgarh Lok Sabha constituencies in Uttar Pradesh is underway on Sunday under tight security. The counting process started at 8 am
In Azamgarh, Samajwadi party candidate Dharmendra Yadav argued with security personnel over the alleged denial of access to the vault. Mr. Yadav claimed that “an attempt is being made to change EVMs, which is why he was not allowed in.” The SP leader was allowed in later.
Chief Inspector of Police, Azamgarh, Anurag Arya, said the rights holders were allowed entry after “beautifying”. “There was some confusion. Now he (Dharmendra Yadav) is inside, and the counting is going smoothly,” said the SP.
The two constituencies voted on June 23, with Azamgarh having a turnout of 49.43% and Rampur 41.39%. – PTI
10:15 am | Mandar
Counting on for Mandar bypoll in Jharkhand
The vote counting for the by-election for the Mandar Assembly seat in Jharkhand’s Ranchi district began at 8 am. Sunday amid tight security, a senior official said. More than 61.25% of about 3.5 lakh voters cast their votes in the elections, which were held on June 23, he said. The by-election was necessitated by Bandhu Tirkey’s disqualification as an MLA after his conviction in a corruption case. – PTI
10:15 am | Sangrur
Vote counting begins for Sangrur LS bypolls
The vote count for the Sangrur Lok Sabha bypolls began at 8 am on Sunday amid tight security arrangements. The Lok Sabha seat went to the polls on June 23 with a low turnout of 45.30%.
The bypoll was necessitated by the resignation of Bhagwant Mann from the Lok Sabha after being elected as MLA in the State Assembly elections earlier this year. Mr. Mann, wow, the state’s prime minister, had won the Sangrur seat in the 2014 and 2019 parliamentary elections. – PTI
10:15 am | Tripura
Counting underway for Tripura bypolls amid tight security
Officials said the vote count was underway for the by-elections for the four assembly seats in Tripura on Sunday amid tight security. The counting began at 8 am for the bypolls to the Agartala, Town Bardowali, Surma, and Jubarajnagar seats, held on June 2.
The votes were counted in three centers, she added. More than 78% of 1,89,032 people had voted in the election. Twenty-two candidates are in the running. – PTI
June 26
Lok Sabha bypasses crucial test for AAP, SP
The BJP is especially hopeful of winning the Rampur seat, as it has an equal number of Hindu and Muslim voters. It has deployed Ghanshyam Singh Lodhi, who recently joined the party. Asim Raja, handpicked by Mr. Khan, is the SP candidate. The Mayawati-led BSP is not contesting Rampur.
June 26
Vote count underway in 3 Lok Sabha, 7 Assembly seats
Vote counting is underway on June 26 in three Lok Sabha and seven Assembly seats across five states and Delhi, where polls were held on June 23. The counting began at 8 am under multi-layered security. First, the ballots are counted, and then the EVMs are opened.
