Oct 6, 2026, 10:02:48 IST

West Bengal by-elections 2026 LIVE: West Bengal Minister Dilip Ghosh on Tuesday expressed confidence in victory in the Rejinagar and Nandigram Assembly bypolls.

"Confident of victory in Rejinagar and Nandigram, people know who can offer good governance," Ghosh said.

Oct 6, 2026, 09:55:35 IST

West Bengal by-elections 2026 LIVE: Polling percentage in West Bengal bypolls as of 9 am:

- Nandigram: 20.89%

- Rejinagar: 18.05%

Oct 6, 2026, 09:54:11 IST

West Bengal by-elections 2026 LIVE: AJUP candidate Gulam Ali Ahmed on Tuesday alleged police interference during polling for the Rejinagar Assembly constituency by-election.

"If there had been a fair election, we would have won 100%. There is still a lot of police planning involved. Let's see what happens now... There is no competition with any other party; the only competition is with the BJP... The public has understood the situation, which is why the police are scared and are stopping people from voting here. They are threatening people from all sides and asking them not to vote. They are telling people that if they vote, the same government will remain in power and that they will face difficulties later..." Ahmed said.

Oct 6, 2026, 09:45:48 IST

Assam by-elections 2026 LIVE: Congress candidate Sibamoni Bora cast her vote in the Nagaon Lok Sabha bye-election at the Majgaon polling station in Jajori on Tuesday.

Speaking to reporters after voting, Bora expressed confidence in her victory, saying, "We will surely win... It is difficult to say by what margin..."

Oct 6, 2026, 09:08:41 IST

Bypolls Election Voting LIVE: TVK candidate P Sathyabama cast her vote on Tuesday as polling got underway in the Dharapuram Assembly constituency in Tamil Nadu.

The Dharapuram bypoll was necessitated after Sathyabama resigned as an AIADMK MLA and later joined the ruling TVK. She has been re-nominated by the party for the seat.

The bypoll is also being held in Madurantakam, where former AIADMK MLA K Maragatham Kumaravel resigned before joining TVK and has been re-nominated.

The DMK and AIADMK are also contesting both constituencies.

Oct 6, 2026, 08:48:23 IST

Bypolls Election Voting LIVE: Aam Janata Unnayan Party (AJUP) chief and MLA Humayun Kabir was detained by Rejinagar Police on Tuesday amid polling for the Rejinagar Assembly by-election in West Bengal's Murshidabad district.

Kabir was taken away by police from his party office as voting was underway in the constituency. Further details are awaited.

Earlier in the day, Kabir had cast his vote in the Rejinagar Assembly constituency.

Oct 6, 2026, 08:43:13 IST

Bypolls Election Voting LIVE: Polling is underway in Assam's Nagaon Lok Sabha constituency, where the BJP, Congress and AIUDF are locked in a three-way contest.

The seat fell vacant after Congress MP Pradyut Bordoloi left the party, joined the BJP and later won the Dispur Assembly constituency in the 2026 Assam Assembly elections. Bordoloi had represented Nagaon in both the 2019 and 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

The BJP has fielded former Nagaon Deputy Commissioner Debashish Sharma, while the Congress has nominated former Batadroba MLA Sibamoni Bora. AIUDF chief Badruddin Ajmal's entry into the contest has added another dimension to the bypoll.

The contest is significant as the Congress seeks to retain a seat it won in the last two Lok Sabha elections, while the BJP and AIUDF are looking to make gains in the constituency.

Oct 6, 2026, 08:25:02 IST

Bypolls Election Voting LIVE: Aam Janata Unnayan Party (AJUP) chief and MLA Humayun Kabir was taken away by Rejinagar Police from his party office in Murshidabad on Tuesday. Further details are awaited.

Earlier in the day, Kabir cast his vote in the Rejinagar Assembly constituency by-election.

Oct 6, 2026, 08:05:51 IST

Bypolls Election Voting LIVE: BJP leader Keya Ghosh said the BJP government would ensure peace during the Nandigram and Rejinagar Assembly bypolls, referring to a history of violence during elections in the state.

Ghosh also expressed confidence that the BJP would secure a “huge margin” in both constituencies.

Oct 6, 2026, 07:45:29 IST

Bypolls Election Voting LIVE: As Nandigram and Rejinagar go to the polls on Tuesday, the West Bengal bypolls carry significance well beyond the two Assembly seats, marking the BJP's first electoral test since ending the TMC's 15-year rule and triggering a battle among opposition parties for political space.

The contests will offer the BJP an early indication of voter sentiment towards its governance since taking office in May. At the same time, opposition parties are competing to establish themselves as the BJP's principal challenger, while all sides will be watching the voting pattern among the state's minority electorate.

Polling in both constituencies will be held on October 6, with counting scheduled for October 9.

Political analyst Biswanath Chakraborty said the bypolls were significant because the BJP's rise to power had created a new political vacuum for the Opposition.

“The main issue is who occupies the opposition space against the BJP. The bypolls will give us an indication of which party has the potential to emerge as the principal challenger,” he said.

The BJP swept the May elections, ending 15 years of TMC rule. The bypolls, however, are unlikely to constitute a verdict on the performance of a four-month-old government. They could nevertheless offer early clues about voter response to its governance and policy choices.

Of the two contests, Nandigram carries greater symbolic significance, given its history as a key battleground in Bengal's political transformation.

Oct 6, 2026, 07:40:18 IST

Bypolls Election Voting LIVE: The high-profile campaign by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay, DMK president MK Stalin, Leader of Opposition Udhayanidhi Stalin and AIADMK chief Edappadi K Palaniswami has underscored the political significance of the two bypolls in the state, with the results carrying importance for both the ruling and Opposition camps.

For Vijay's TVK, the outcome will indicate whether the party can strengthen its presence in the Assembly. The DMK, which was defeated in the April Assembly elections, will look to regain ground, while the AIADMK has mounted an aggressive campaign after being pushed to third place.

The bypolls in Madurantakam and Dharapuram are witnessing a five-cornered contest involving the ruling TVK, DMK, AIADMK, the Left Front and a Tamil nationalist party.

The Opposition has alleged that the bypolls were not a natural political development but were forced on voters due to alleged “horse-trading”. The TVK has rejected the charge, saying the AIADMK MLAs resigned and joined the party after becoming frustrated with attempts by the Palaniswami camp to align with the DMK to form a government.

Vijay's TVK has fielded former AIADMK MLAs K Maragatham Kumaravel and P Sathyabama in Madurantakam and Dharapuram, respectively. In Madurantakam, the key challengers include DMK's I Paranthamen and AIADMK's Kanitha Sampath. In Dharapuram, TVK's Sathyabama faces DMK's S Suganya and AIADMK's K Bhanumathi.

During his campaign, Vijay positioned the TVK as the successor to the welfare-oriented political legacy of former AIADMK chief ministers MG Ramachandran and J Jayalalithaa, both of whom were longtime rivals of the DMK.

Vijay's pitch effectively seeks to expand the TVK's footprint into the political space traditionally occupied by the AIADMK.

Oct 6, 2026, 07:30:28 IST

Oct 6, 2026, 07:26:17 IST

Oct 6, 2026, 07:12:06 IST

Oct 6, 2026, 07:04:46 IST

Oct 6, 2026, 06:47:11 IST

Bypolls Election Voting LIVE: The Nandigram and Rejinagar bypolls on Tuesday are being closely watched as an early electoral test of the BJP government in West Bengal, while opposition parties compete to establish themselves as the principal challenger to the ruling party.

The contests are the first bypolls since the BJP ended the TMC’s 15-year rule and formed the government in the state in May. Besides offering an indication of the voter response to the new government, the results could also shape the emerging contest among opposition parties for political space.

The two constituencies are also being watched for indications of how minority voters, a significant electoral bloc in West Bengal, are aligning amid a fragmented opposition landscape.

Polling in Nandigram and Rejinagar will take place on October 6, with counting scheduled for October 9.

Oct 6, 2026, 06:18:41 IST

Bypolls Election Voting LIVE: Preparations are in place for polling on October 6 in the Madurantakam and Dharapuram assembly constituencies, with the results set to offer an early test of the fledgling TVK government and the prospects of the state’s major political players.

The high-profile campaign, which saw Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay, DMK president MK Stalin, Leader of Opposition Udhayanidhi Stalin and AIADMK chief Edappadi K Palaniswami take the field, has highlighted the importance attached to the two bypolls.

For the ruling TVK, the outcome could determine whether it is able to strengthen its position in the Assembly. The DMK, meanwhile, will look to use the bypolls to regain ground after its unexpected defeat in the April assembly elections. The AIADMK, which was relegated to third place, is also seeking to re-establish itself as a major force in the state’s opposition politics.

The two constituencies are witnessing a five-cornered contest involving the ruling TVK, opposition DMK, AIADMK, the Left Front and the Tamil nationalist TVK, making the results significant for the competing political formations ahead of the next electoral battle.