Bye-elections: Voting concludes in five Assembly Constituencies

A voter makes a thumb impression before casting vote at a polling booth during the by-election to the Kaliganj assembly seat in West Bengal’s Nadia district. Phote: X/@CEOWestBengal via PTI

By-elections were held in five Assembly constituencies in four states on Thursday (June 19, 2025). While two assembly bypolls were held in Gujarat, one each was held in Kerala, West Bengal and Punjab.

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Polling took place at the Assembly Constituencies of Kadi (SC) and Visavadar in Gujarat, Nilambur in Kerala, Ludhiana West in Punjab and Kaliganj in West Bengal.

Nilambur Assembly segment in Kerala recorded the highest polling percentage of 73.26 % till 8 p.m., the lowest was recorded in Ludhiana West (51.33 %) in Punjab. Kadi saw a voter turnout of 54.49 %, Visavadar (54.61 %) and Kaliganj (69.89 %).

The counting of votes will take place on June 23.

While the bye-election in Kadi was necessitated due to the death of sitting BJP MLA Karsanbhai Punjabhai Solanki, in Visavadar seat, it is taking place due to sitting member Bhayani Bhupendrabhai Gandubhai resigning from the Aam Aadmi party and joining the BJP.

Kerala’s Nilambur seat went for bypolls because of the resignation of P.V. Anvar. Mr Anvar, had won twice from the seat with Left Democratic Front (LDF) support and then switched sides to the United Democratic Front (UDF). He had resigned as an MLA following differences with Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.

In Punjab’s Ludhiana, bypolls are being held due to the death of sitting AAP member Gurpreet Bassi Gogi.

Byelection to the Kaliganj Assembly seat in West Bengal was necessitated due to the death of sitting Trinamool Congress MLA Nasiruddin Ahamed.

According to the Election Commission of India, several new initiatives launched by the ECI were implemented in these polls.

The new initiatives include the provision of mobile deposit facility for the electors at all polling stations, upgraded Voter Turnout sharing process resulting in faster updation of the approximate polling trends by ensuring that the Presiding Officer updates the VTR data at the close of poll before leaving the polling station, webcasting at 100 per cent of polling stations ensuring constant vigil of the polling process and individual mock poll training of all Presiding Officers.

Also, Special Summary Revision (SSR) of the Electoral Rolls was conducted before the bye-polls for the first time in nearly two decades, the ECI said.

Published - June 19, 2025 09:16 pm IST