Lucknow | Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday termed the Uttar Pradesh bypolls the "most distorted form of electoral politics".

In a post on X in Hindi, Akhilesh Yadav said, "The tactics of those who have made 'election' synonymous with 'corruption' have been captured in photographs and exposed before the world," he said.

"The world, the country and Uttar Pradesh saw the most distorted form of electoral politics in this by-election. There may be a time for lies but not an era," he said in his post.

"Now the real struggle has begun. Tighten your fist and make the PDA proclaim 'If we join, we will win!'," Akhilesh Yadav said in his post.

According to the Election Commission, the Samajwadi Party candidate Naseem Solanki from Sishamau won the seat by a margin of 8,564 votes. She defeated BJP's Suresh Awasthi.

Solanki's husband Irfan Solanki won the seat in 2012, 2017 and 2022.

The bypolls held on Wednesday were necessitated due to Irfan Solanki's disqualification from the Assembly following his conviction in a criminal case.

In Karhal, Tej Pratap Singh of the SP defeated BJP's Anujesh Pratap Singh by a margin of 14,725 votes.

The Karhal assembly seat was vacated by Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav after winning the Lok Sabha election from Kannauj.

In the 2022 Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls, the BJP won Phulpur, Ghaziabad, Majhawan and Khair seats and the SP secured Sisamau, Katehari, Karhal and Kundarki.

The RLD, which was an SP ally then, won the Meerapur seat. The party has since switched sides and is now part of the BJP-led NDA.

The Congress did not contest the bypolls and extended support to the SP, its INDIA bloc ally.

The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) contested all nine seats and the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) fielded candidates from Ghaziabad, Kundarki and Meerapur.

The Aazad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram), led by Chandrashekhar Aazad, also contested all seats except Sisamau.

In the current assembly, the BJP has 251 MLAs and the SP 105.

BJP allies, such as Apna Dal (Sonelal), RLD, Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party and NISHAD Party, also have members in the House. The Congress and the Jansatta Dal Loktantrik hold two seats each and the BSP holds one seat.

Lucknow | The BJP won Ghaziabad, Khair and Phulpur assembly seats while the Samajwadi Party bagged Sishamau and Karhal in the Uttar Pradesh bypolls, results of which were announced on Saturday.

The ruling BJP is leading in three of the nine seats for which bypolls were held on November 20 and its ally RLD is ahead in one, according to the Election Commission (EC).

BJP's Phulpur candidate Deepak Patel defeated his nearest rival and Samajwadi Party (SP) nominee Md Mujtaba Siddiqui by a margin of 11,305 votes. Patel got a total of 78,289 votes, the EC website showed.

In Ghaziabad, BJP's Sanjeev Sharma defeated his nearest rival and SP candidate Singh Raj Jatav by a margin of 69,351 votes. Sharma got a total of 96,946 votes.

In Khair, BJP's Surender Diler got 1,00,181 votes and defeated SP's Charu Kain by a margin of 38,393 votes.

The SP retained Sishamau and Karhal assembly seats, according to the EC.

In Karhal, SP's Tej Pratap Yadav defeated BJP's Anujesh Pratap Singh by a margin of 14,725 votes. Yadav got a total of 1,04,304 votes.

Karhal assembly seat was vacated by SP president Akhilesh Yadav after he was elected to the Lok Sabha from Kannauj.

In Sishamau, SP's Naseem Solanki defeated BJP's Suresh Awasthi by 8,564 votes.

Solanki secured 69,714 votes while Awasthi got 61,150. The Bahujan Samaj Party's (BSP) Virendra Kumar was a distant third with 1,410 votes.

Solanki's husband Irfan won the seat in 2012, 2017 and 2022.

The Sishamau bypoll was necessitated after Irfan was disqualified from the assembly following his conviction in a criminal case.

New Delhi | With a victory secured in Maharashtra, the BJP received a shot in the arm ahead of the Delhi Assembly polls next year, with its local leaders saying the party is now set to dethrone the AAP government in the national capital with a massive win.

Even as the signs of the landslide victory of the party-led alliance emerged with counting of votes on 288 Assembly seats in Maharashtra, the BJP announced a "Parivartan Yatra" to end the 10 year-rule of Aam Aadmi Party in Delhi.

Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva said the Maharashtra election results were a stamp of public approval to the "Modi magic." "The recent victory in Haryana polls and now, party's landslide victories in Maharashtra and the bypolls in Uttar Pradesh are big morale boosters for us.

"The party workers encouraged by these results will work with redoubled energy to wipe out the era of corruption led by AAP in Delhi," Sachdeva told PTI.

He said the party will launch a 'Parivartan Yatra' soon in Delhi, and that it has formed a nine-member committee headed by Satish Upadhyay to firm up the plan.

A confident Delhi BJP posted an animation video on its X account with caption "The Lotus will bloom in Delhi also" and a background voice of late Atal Bihari Vajpayee saying "...the darkness will wane, the Sun will rise and the lotus will bloom..." The BJP last won Assembly polls in Delhi way back in 1993.

The Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP has dominated the affairs in Delhi for the last one decade, registering back-to-back landslide victories in 2015 and 2020 elections.

The BJP was routed both times, managing to scrape through with just three seats in 2015 and eight in 2020.

This time, however, the party is confident of staging a comeback and end a long wait at the helm of affairs in the city.

Another party functionary asserted that the signs of a "far better" performance of the BJP in the upcoming assembly polls are clear.

"We won all the seven Lok Sabha seats this year and got more votes than AAP in 52 Assembly segments out of 70," said the Delhi BJP leader.

Also, the image of Kejriwal as an honest, capable leader has received a "major dent" with a string of corruption allegations like liquor scam in which he went to jail, "Sheshmahal" scam, and the problems faced by the people due to bad roads, water shortage, pollution, dilapidated public transport among others, he claimed.

Gupta, the Leader of the Opposition in Delhi Assembly, said the "unprecedented and historic victory" in Maharashtra of the BJP-led alliance is a testament to the welfare-oriented policies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the capable leadership of BJP.

Gupta said that the "grand victory" symbolised the "relentless hard work, indomitable enthusiasm, and dedication" of every BJP worker, who took the party's "principles and development agenda" to every household.

The Mahayuti alliance according to updates was headed to a landslide victory leading on more than 220 seats out of 288 against the Maha Vikas Aghadi.

As per the latest figures from the Election Commission, the BJP has so far won nine seats and is leading in 125, the Shiv Sena has won three and is ahead in 53 seats, while the NCP has won two and is leading in 37 seats.

Bengaluru | Buoyed by the assembly election by-polls, which saw the ruling Congress sweeping in all the three seats, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday said he won in the ‘people's court'.

He gave credit to the guarantee schemes for the party's victory in the assembly bypolls in Sandur, Shiggaon and Channapatna.

“You know what Mahatma Gandhi said. He said people's court is better than the courts. Now people's court has given me its verdict,” Siddaramaiah told reporters.

This victory was significant for the Congress as the BJP and JD(S) formed an alliance, he explained.

“We won from Kalyana Karnataka (Sandur), Kittur Karnataka region (Shiggaon), and old Mysuru region (Channapatna). In all the places we won. So, this is very significant." “After our government came to power about one and half years ago, the BJP made false allegations on me and my government. They also spread lies about our schemes,” Siddaramaiah said.

The CM is an accused in the MUDA site allotment scam where 14 sites in upmarket of Mysuru was allotted to his wife, Parvathi. After the controversy broke out, Parvathi returned the sites to MUDA.

He also came down heavily on the opposition BJP and JD(S) for their lies and ‘baseless allegations'.

The Chief Minister also took a swipe at JDS supremo H D Deve Gowda and his son Union Minister H D Kumaraswamy for "crying" in public during elections.

“Deve Gowda and his sons cry, but didn't their heart melt when several women cried in the Prajwal Revanna case in Hassan?” he asked.

Former JD(S) MP and grandson of former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda, Prajwal Revanna is in jail for allegedly sexually assaulting several women and filming them.

Bhopal | In a blow to the ruling BJP in Madhya Pradesh, minister Ramniwas Rawat lost to the Congress' Mukesh Malhotra by a margin of 7,364 votes in the Vijaypur assembly bypoll.

Rawat had won the seat on a Congress ticket in the 2023 assembly polls but then switched over to the BJP, which made him forest minister in the Mohan Yadav government.

Rawat had won from Vijaypur in Sheopur district as a Congress candidate in 1990, 1993, 2003, 2008, 2013 and 2023.

Jaipur | BJP candidate Rewant Ram Danga won the assembly bypoll on Khinwsar seat with a margin of 13,901 votes, according to results announced on Saturday.

Danga secured 1,08,628 votes, while his nearest rival and RLP candidate Kanika Beniwal got 94,727 votes.

Congress candidate Dr Ratan Chaudhary stood third with 5,454 votes.

Kanika Beniwal is the wife of Nagaur MP and RLP convener Hanuman Beniwal.

Lucknow | With the Uttar Pradesh assembly bypoll trends and results coming in favour of NDA-BJP candidates, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday said these are proof of people's unwavering faith in the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The BJP and its ally RLD are leading in six of the nine seats where bypolls were held on November 20 this week. The votes are being counted on Saturday.

"The victory of the BJP-NDA in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly by-elections is a proof of people's unwavering faith in the successful leadership and guidance of the esteemed Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi ji," he said in a post on X in Hindi.

"This victory is the result of security, good governance and public welfare policies of the double engine government and the tireless hard work of dedicated workers," Adityanath added, expressing gratitude to the people of the state.

"Hearty congratulations to all the winning candidates! If we are divided we will be cut. If we stay united we will be safe," he said.

Among the nine seats, the BJP is leading in Kundarki, Khair, Ghaziabad, Phulpur, Katehari and Majhawan seats, the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) in Meerapur and the Samajwadi Party (SP) in Karhal.

The Samajwadi Party's Naseem Solanki has won the Sisamau seat in Kanpur by defeating the BJP's 8,564 votes, the Election Commission said.

Kolkata | In a major triumph, the Trinamool Congress is set for a clean sweep in all six bypolls, retaining four seats, wresting Madarihat from BJP, and leading in one, further cementing its political dominance in West Bengal, even as the ongoing protests over the RG Kar incident failed to sway voters.

The bypolls were held in six constituencies — Naihati, Haroa, Medinipur, Taldangra, Sitai (SC), and Madarihat (ST) — following the resignation of sitting MLAs who had vacated their assembly seats after securing victories in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

These elections held on November 13 were seen as a crucial test for the ruling party amid a politically charged atmosphere, with protests over RG Kar issue intensifying. However, despite these protests, the TMC emerged victorious across the board continuing its winning streak of 2024 Lok Sabha poll victory.

Five of the six constituencies are located in South Bengal, a TMC stronghold, while Madarihat is in the northern part of the state, which the BJP had won in 2021. The by-poll results reinforce TMC's political dominance across West Bengal.

In Haroa, where over 70 per cent of the electorate belongs to the minority community, the BJP came a distant third and failed to retain its deposit, prompting party leader Suvendu Adhikari to comment: “Minorities don't vote for the BJP”.

The CPI(M)-led Left Front, which had hoped to capitalise on the RG Kar protests to revive its fortunes, faced a crushing defeat, losing its deposit in Sitai and Madarihat. Similarly, its ally, the CPI(ML), lost its deposit in Naihati, while the All India Secular Front (ISF) lost its deposit in Haroa.

The Congress, led by new state chief Suvankar Sarkar, contested without an alliance with the Left for the first time since 2021 but fared no better, losing deposits in all six constituencies.

In Sitai (SC), TMC's Sangita Roy won by a margin of 1,30,636 over BJP's Dipak Kumar Ray, who garnered only 35,348 votes. TMC's vote share surged to 76 per cent, compared to 49 per cent in the 2021 state elections, while the BJP's share plummeted from 45 per cent to just 16 per cent.

The Madarihat (ST) seat, previously held by the BJP, marked another significant victory for the TMC. The ruling party's Jayprakash Toppo won with 79,186 votes, securing a lead of 28,168 votes over BJP's Rahul Lohar.

This victory is historic for the TMC, as it marks the first time the party has taken control of Madarihat, a key seat in the tea garden belt, signaling a major political shift.

The TMC's vote share surged to 54.05 per cent, while the BJP's share dropped to 34 per cent, nearly mirroring TMC's vote share of 34.13 per cent in 2021.

In Naihati, TMC's Sanat Dey won with 78,772 votes, defeating BJP's Rupak Mitra by 49,277 votes. TMC's vote share increased to 62.97 per cent, up from 50 per cent in 2021, while BJP's share fell to 23.58 per cent, a significant drop from 38 per cent in 2021.

In Haroa, TMC's SK Rabiul Islam won with 1,57,072 votes, maintaining a commanding margin of 1,31,388 votes over Piyarul Islam of the ISF, who secured only 25,684 votes.

This result underscores TMC's dominance among minorities in South Bengal. TMC's vote share surged to 76.63 per cent, while the ISF managed just 12.53 per cent, compared to 57.34 per cent for the TMC in 2021.

In Medinipur, TMC's Sujoy Hazra won with 115,104 votes, a margin of 33,996 votes over BJP's Subhajit Roy, who secured 81,108 votes.

TMC's vote share reached 53.43 per cent, compared to the BJP's 37.67 per cent, reflecting a similar outcome to 2021, when TMC had 50.72 per cent and the BJP had 40.51 per cent in this tribal-dominated seat.

In Taldangra, TMC's Falguni Singhababu is leading with 54,327 votes, maintaining a margin of 20,273 votes over BJP's Ananya Roy Chakraborty, who received 34,054 votes.

West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee expressed her gratitude to the people of the state for their continued support, saying, “I would like to thank and congratulate the 'Maa, Mati, and Manush' from the bottom of my heart. Your blessings will help us work for the people in the coming days,” in a social media post.

TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee congratulated all six TMC candidates for their decisive victories, claiming they had “defied the narratives created by the Zamindars, the media, and a section of the Calcutta High Court to defame Bengal for their own vested interests.” He also expressed special thanks to the people of Madarihat. "I bow before the people of West Bengal for democratically dismantling the Bangla Birodhis, their fake narratives, and reaffirming their trust in us." BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar downplayed the significance of the bypoll results. “Bypoll results cannot serve as a reliable indicator. Whether the people are with the TMC or against them will be reflected in the upcoming assembly elections,” Majumdar said.

The bypolls marked a significant setback for the CPI(M)-led Left Front and the Congress. The Left, accused by TMC of masterminding the prolonged doctor's protests, failed to capitalise on the public anger surrounding the RG Kar incident, losing in all constituencies.

Since the 2021 assembly elections, the TMC has won every by-election, except the Sagardighi bypoll in March 2023, which was later won by a Congress candidate who later switched to the TMC.

With this victory, TMC's tally in the 294-member state assembly rises to 216, further consolidating its position. The BJP's tally drops to 69, from 77 in 2021.

Palanpur | BJP leader Swarupji Thakor on Saturday defeated his nearest Congress rival, Gulabsinh Rajput, by 2,442 votes in the bypoll to the Vav assembly constituency in Gujarat, as per the ECI.

Thakor surged past Rajput in the last two rounds. He bagged 92,176 votes, restricting Rajput to 89,734.

Independent candidate Mavji Patel finished third with 27,195 votes.

The bypoll to the Vav assembly segment was necessitated following the resignation of Congress MLA Geniben Thakor after her victory from the Banaskantha Lok Sabha constituency.

With the Vav victory, the BJP's tally in the 182-member Gujarat assembly went up to 162.

Jaipur | Rajasthan BJP President Madan Rathore on Saturday claimed that the Bharatiya Janata Party has won the Assembly bypolls in Jhunjhunu, Khinwsar, Deoli-Uniara, Ramgarh and Salumbar, while recounting of votes is underway in Dausa.

As per the latest Election Commission of India (ECI) figures, BJP candidates are leading in five seats -- Jhunjhunu, Khinwsar, Deoli-Uniara, Ramgarh and Salumbar, Congress is ahead in Dausa, while the Bharat Adivasi Party (BAP) nominee has won the Chorasi Assembly seat.

"We have won five seats while recounting is underway in Dausa. I am hopeful of a positive result," Rathore told reporters here.

"Though we lost in Chorasi, our candidate secured more votes as compared to the 2023 Assembly elections," he added.

As per the ECI, BJP candidates Rewant Ram Danga (Khinwsar), Rajendra Bhamboo (Jhunjhunu), Rajendra Gujar (Deoli-Uniara), Sukhwant Singh (Ramgarh) and Shanta Meena (Salumbar) are in the lead, while Congress' Deen Dayal is ahead by a thin margin in Dausa.

BAP nominee Anil Kumar Katara won the Chorasi seat after defeating his nearest rival Karilal Nanoma of the BJP by 24,370 votes.

Lucknow | The Samajwadi Party on Saturday retained the Sishamau assembly seat in Uttar Pradesh with its candidate Naseem Solanki defeating her nearest rival by 8,564 votes.

According to the Election Commission, Solanki secured 69,714 votes while the BJP's Suresh Awasthi got 61,150 and the Bahujan Samaj Party's (BSP) Virendra Kumar 1,410.

Solanki's husband Irfan Solanki had won the seat in 2012, 2017 and 2022.

The bypoll, which was held on Wednesday, was necessitated by Irfan Solanki's disqualification from the assembly following his conviction in a criminal case.

Patna | The ruling NDA in Bihar on Saturday swept the bypolls to four assembly segments, retaining Imamganj and wresting from the INDIA bloc Tarari, Ramgarh and Belaganj, receiving a boost ahead of the assembly elections due next year.

Candidates of the Jan Suraaj, floated recently by former political strategist Prashant Kishor with much fanfare, lost deposits in all but one seat, in a clear indication that the fledgling party, despite claims of taking the political landscape in the state by storm, needs to cover much ground.

The biggest setback for the INDIA bloc, helmed by the RJD, came in Belaganj, a seat the party had been winning since its inception in the 1990s, but this time lost to the JD(U) headed by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, the arch-rival of its founding president Lalu Prasad.

The JD(U) candidate Manorama Devi, a former MLC, defeated by a margin of more than 21,000 votes RJD's Vishwanath Kumar Singh who made his debut from a seat that fell vacant upon election to Lok Sabha of his father Surendra Prasad Yadav, a multiple term MLA.

The margin of victory was greater than the 17,285 votes polled by Mohd Amjad of Jan Suraaj, whom the RJD may have liked to blame for its defeat by causing a split in Muslim votes.

JD(U) national spokesman Rajiv Ranjan Prasad said, "The people of Bihar deserve kudos for rejecting the negativity of the opposition and reposing their trust in Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. Under his leadership, the NDA will win more than 200 seats of the 243-strong assembly in 2025."

The RJD also suffered an embarrassing defeat in Ramgarh, where Prashant Kishor's prediction of the party “finishing third or fourth” came true. The forecast had caused Sudhakar Singh, son of state RJD president Jagadanand Singh, the MP from Buxar who had won the assembly seat in 2020, to threaten that Jan Suraaj cadres in the constituency will be “beaten up with sticks”.

Singh's younger brother Ajit finished a distant third after BJP winner Ashok Kumar Singh, a former MLA, and Satish Kumar Singh Yadav who fought on a ticket of the BSP, which has little foothold in Bihar. Jan Suraaj, though, was hardly a factor in Ramgarh, where its candidate Sushil Kumar Singh polled less than four per cent votes.

The BJP also pulled off a stunning victory in Tarari, which falls under the Arrah Lok Sabha seat, currently represented by CPI(ML)'s Sudama Prasad, who had won the assembly segment for two consecutive terms.

CPI(ML) candidate Raju Yadav lost, by a margin of a little over 10,000 votes, to BJP debutant Vishal Prashant, better known as the son of local strongman Sunil Pandey, who was formerly with the JD(U) and had joined the saffron party a few months ago.

Jan Suraaj had initially announced that it was fielding a former Vice Chief of the Army in Tarari but later disclosed that he could not contest because of technical reasons. Its candidate Kiran Singh got less than four per cent votes.

The most respectable performance from Jan Suraaj came in the reserved Imamganj seat where its candidate Jitendra Paswan stood third, polling well over 20 per cent votes.

The seat, however, went to Deepa Kumari, daughter-in-law of Union minister Jitan Ram Manjhi, who defeated RJD's Raushan Kumar by a slender margin of less than 6,000 votes.

Manjhi, who heads the Hindustani Awam Morcha, vacated Imamganj earlier this year upon getting elected to Lok Sabha from Gaya.

With the exception of Ashok Singh in Ramgarh, the winners in all the seats shall be making their debut in the state assembly.

Lucknow | The BJP and its ally RLD were leading in seven of the nine Uttar Pradesh Assembly seats where bypolls were held earlier this week while the Samajwadi Party was ahead in the remaining two, Election Commission trends showed on Saturday.

The BJP was in the lead in Kundarki, Khair, Ghaziabad, Phulpur, Katehari and Majhawan seats, the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) in Meerapur and the Samajwadi Party (SP) in Karhal and Sisamau.

In Meerapur, the RLD's Mithilesh Pal is leading by 19,785 votes against Samajwadi Party candidate Sumbul Rana.

The BJP's Ramveer Singh is leading in Kundarki by a margin of 98,537 votes while his party colleague Sanjeev Sharma is leading by 59,707 votes in Ghaziabad. Surender Diler is leading by a margin of 35,702 votes in the Khair (SC) seat.

In Phulpur, the BJP's Deepak Patel is leading by a margin of 8,233 votes and in Majhawan, party candidate Shuchismita Maurya is leading by 4,033 votes. In Katehari the BJP's Dharam Raj Nishad is leading by 7,201 votes.

In Karhal, the Samajwadi Party's Tej Pratap Yadav is leading by a margin of 19,581 votes, while his party colleague Naseem Solanki is ahead of her nearest rival in Sishamau by a margin of 8,564 votes.

In the 2022 Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls, the BJP won Phulpur, Ghaziabad, Majhawan and Khair seats and the SP secured Sisamau, Katehari, Karhal and Kundarki.

The RLD, which was an SP ally then, won the Meerapur seat. The party has since switched sides and is now part of the BJP-led NDA.

The Congress did not contest the bypolls and extended support to the SP, its INDIA bloc ally.

The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) contested all nine seats and the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) fielded candidates from Ghaziabad, Kundarki and Meerapur.

The Aazad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram), led by Chandrashekhar Aazad, also contested all seats except Sisamau.

In the current assembly, the BJP has 251 MLAs and the SP 105.

BJP allies, such as Apna Dal (Sonelal), RLD, Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party and NISHAD Party, also have members in the House. The Congress and the Jansatta Dal Loktantrik hold two seats each and the BSP one.

Kolkata | Trinamool Congress candidate Sk Rabiul Islam won the Haroa assembly by-poll on Saturday, defeating his nearest AISF nominee Piyarul Islam by 1,31,388 votes, the EC said.

BJP secured the third position as party candidate Bimal Das got 13,570 votes.

Bengaluru | Congress' Yasir Ahmed Khan Pathan on Saturday won the Shiggaon Assembly segment in Karnataka by defeating former Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai's son Bharath Bommai by a margin of 13,448 votes in the by-poll.

Pathan, who faced defeat against BJP's Basavaraj Bommai in the 2023 Assembly polls, secured 1,00,756 votes, while Bharth got 87,308 votes.

The bypoll was held on November 13 and the results were announced today.

Bypoll for the Shiggaon Assembly segment was necessitated, as the seat fell vacant following the election of Basavaraj Bommai to Lok Sabha in May elections.

Initially, former MLA Syed Azeempeer Khadri, a Congress' ticket aspirant, had raised a banner of revolt by filing his nomination as an independent, but later withdrew after intervention by party leadership.

For Baharath Bommai, this was his first electoral battle. He is the third generation from the Bommai family in electoral politics. Both his father and grandfather (S R Bommai) have served as Karnataka's chief ministers in the past.

Basavaraj Bommai had represented Shiggaon segment four times. He had won 2023 Assembly polls by a margin of 35,978 votes, securing 1,00,016 votes.

Kolkata | West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday thanked the people of the state as her party, the Trinamool Congress, was on the course to bag all the six assembly seats that went to the by-elections.

She said the results of the by-elections would help her work for the people.

"I would like to thank and congratulate the 'Maa, Mati and Manush' from the bottom of my heart. Your blessings will help us work for the people in the coming days. We all are common people and that is our identity. We are not zamindars, but the custodians of the people," she posted on X.

According to the Election Commission, TMC has already won the Naihati, Sitai, Haroa and Madarihat seats, and was leading by big margins in Taldangra and Medinipur.

Jaipur | BJP candidates were leading in four assembly seats while the Bharat Adivasi Party was ahead of its rivals in two seats in the counting of votes for the bypolls to seven assembly seats of Rajasthan.

Congress was ahead only in one seat with its candidate from Dausa, Deen Dayal was leading against his nearest rival and BJP nominee Jag Mohan by a margin of 2,300 votes, Election Commission data showed.

BJP candidates were ahead in Jhunjhunu, Ramgarh, Khinswar and Deoli-Uniara.

Bharat Adivasi Party (BAP) candidate Jitesh Kumar Katara was leading by 16,22 votes in Salumber while another party leader Anil Kumar Katara was leading from Chorasi.

Patna | Deepa Kumari of Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular), an alliance partner of the NDA, won the Imamganj assembly seat in Bihar bypolls, defeating her nearest rival Raushan Kumar of Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) by a margin of 5,945 votes on Saturday, the Election Commission of India said.

Bypolls were held in three other seats-- Tarari, Belaganj and Ramgarh, where candidates of NDA alliance partners have established a comfortable lead in their respective constituencies.

According to the Election Commission of India (ECI) website, Deepa Kumari, the daughter-in-law of Union Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi secured 53,435 votes while her nearest rival Raushan Kumar managed to get 47,490 votes.

Manjhi, who previously represented the Imamganj seat, vacated it following his election to Lok Sabha from Gaya in the 2024 parliamentary elections.

Counting to the four assembly constituencies began at 8 am amid tight security arrangements. All four assembly constituencies fell vacant after MLAs representing these were elected in the last Lok Sabha polls.

New Delhi | The ruling BJP and its ally RLD were leading in six of the nine assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh while the Trinamool Congress maintained its foothold over West Bengal and the Congress in Karnataka, according to trends available on Saturday for bypolls to 46 assembly seats in 13 states.

The AAP and the Congress have won one seat each in Punjab where bypolls were held for four seats. It was a close contest in Rajasthan as the BJP, Congress and Bharat Adivasi Party (BAP) candidates are leading on two seats each while an Independent was leading in Jhunjhunu. The BJP candidates in Uttarakhand and Chhattisgarh were also ahead of their rivals.

The ruling NDA alliance in Bihar established lead in all four constituents and in Assam it was leading in four of the five assembly constituencies. The ruling National People's Party (NPP) in Meghalya got a boost as party candidate and chief minister's wife Mehtab Chandee Agitok Sangma won the Gambegre bypoll by a margin of over 4,500 votes.

Bypolls were also held for two Lok Sabha seats in Kerala's Wayanad and Maharashtra's Nanded. In Wayanad, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was ahead of her rival while in Nanded the BJP candidate was ahead.

In the bypolls to nine assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh, which are being seen as a precursor to the 2027 assembly polls, the BJP and its ally RLD were leading in six seats while the Samajwadi Party was ahead in the remaining three, Election Commission trends showed.

The BJP was in the lead in Kundarki, Khair, Ghaziabad, Phulpur and Majhawan seats, the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) in Meerapur and the Samajwadi Party (SP) in Karhal, Katehari and Sisamau.

In Meerapur, the RLD's Mithilesh Pal is leading against the Samajwadi Party candidate.

Election results were out for two seats in Punjab where Congress candidate Kuldeep Singh Dhillon won the Barnala assembly segment while AAP candidate Ishank Kumar Chabbewal won the Chabbewal assembly seat.

Reinforcing its hold over West Bengal which has been seeing prolonged protests over the RG Kar Medical College incident, the ruling TMC won three seats, wresting the key Madarihat seat from the BJP, and took unassailable leads in three others across all six assembly constituencies where bypolls were held.

In Karnataka, the ruling Congress was ahead in all three seats of Channapatna, Shiggaon and Sandur.

In neighbouring Kerala, Congress-led UDF candidate Rahul Mamkootathil extended his lead by over 15,000 votes in Palakkad assembly bypoll while ruling LDF candidate U R Pradeep extended his lead by over 11,000 votes in Chelakkara.

Madhya Pradesh saw the Congress candidate leading by 4,747 votes in Vijaypur assembly seat, while the BJP candidate was ahead in Budhni constituency by 5,362 votes.

In Chhattisgarh, BJP candidate Sunil Kumar Soni was leading by 20,629 votes over his Congress rival Akash Sharma in Raipur City South assembly bypoll while in Gujarat, Congress candidate Gulabsinh Rajput widened his lead by 13,978 votes over his BJP rival Swarupji Thakor.

The assembly bypolls were held in nine seats in Uttar Pradesh, seven seats in Rajasthan, six seats in West Bengal, five seats in Assam, four seats each in Punjab and Bihar, three seats in Karnataka, two seats in Madhya Pradesh and Kerala, and one seat each in Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Uttarakhand and Meghalaya.

Jaipur | Congress candidate from Dausa Deen Dayal is leading against his nearest rival and BJP nominee Jag Mohan by a margin of 2,300 votes, Election Commission data showed on Saturday.

While Dayal polled 75,334 votes, Mohan, the brother of cabinet minister Kirodi Lal Meena, got 73,034, the EC website showed.

Dausa is among the seven assembly seats in Rajasthan where bypolls were held on November 13. The counting of votes began at 8 am on Saturday.

Currently, the 200-seat Rajasthan Assembly has 114 MLAs of the BJP, 65 of the Congress, three of the Bharat Adivasi Party, two of the Bahujan Samaj Party, one of the Rashtriya Lok Dal and eight Independents.

Guwahati | The BJP on Saturday retained the Behali assembly constituency in Assam bypolls with its candidate Diganta Ghatowal defeating his nearest Congress rival Jayanta Bora by 9,051 votes, officials said.

Ghatowal polled 50,947 votes while Bora secured 41,896.

There were four candidates in the fray in the constituency, including Lakhikanta Kurmi of the CPI(ML)-L and Ananta Gogoi of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) with both losing their deposits.

The seat was earlier held by Ranjit Dutta who was elected to the Lok Sabha from the Tezpur parliamentary seat.

The allies of the ruling NDA were leading in three other constituencies with the BJP in Dholai (SC), AGP in Bongaigaon and UPPL in Sidli (ST) while Congress was leading in Samaguri.

Bypolls were held in the five assembly constituencies as these seats fell vacant following the election of the MLAs to the Lok Sabha earlier this year.

The BJP contested in three of the five constituencies - Behali, Samaguri and Dholai - while its alliance partners AGP and UPPL put up candidates for Bongaigaon and Sidli seats.

The Congress contested all the five constituencies.

Bhopal | The Congress is leading by 4,747 votes after 18 rounds in the bypoll in Madhya Pradesh's Vijaypur assembly seat, while the BJP is ahead in Budhni constituency by 5,362 votes after the fifth round.

The bye elections in Budhni and Vijaypur constituencies were held on November 13.

According to an election official, BJP's Ramakant Bhargava is leading by 5,362 votes against his Congress rival Rajkumar Patel in Budhni after five rounds of counting.

Bhargava was earlier trailing by 953 votes after the second round of counting.

BJP candidate and state's forest minister Ramniwas Rawat is trailing by 4,747 votes behind Congress nominee Mukesh Malhotra after 18 rounds of counting in the Vijaypur assembly seat.

The Budhni seat in Sehore district will see 13 rounds of counting, while there will be 21 rounds in Vijaypur of Sheopur district.

The bypoll in Budhni was necessitated after sitting BJP MLA and former CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan was elected to the Lok Sabha from Vidisha earlier this year. The BJP stalwart was later inducted into the Union Cabinet and allocated the key agriculture portfolio.

The bypoll in Vijaypur was held after sitting Congress MLA Ramniwas Rawat resigned and joined the ruling BJP. He later became a minister in the Mohan Yadav cabinet. Rawat was then fielded by his new party against tribal leader Malhotra of the Congress in the bypoll.

Shillong | In a boost to the ruling National People's Party (NPP) in Meghalaya, party candidate and chief minister's wife Mehtab Chandee Agitok Sangma won the Gambegre constituency bypoll by a margin of over 4,500 votes.

Chandee secured 12,679 votes while her nearest candidate Sadhiarani M Sangma of AITC manage to secure 8,084 votes, followed by Congress' Jingjang M Marak with 7,695 votes.

With this win, the NPP strength in the House increased to 32 in the 60-member Meghalaya Legislative Assembly.

BJP's Bernard N Marak secured 710 votes whereas two independent candidates, Jerry A Sangma and Sengkrabirth M Marak, bagged 706 and 147 votes, respectively.

In her reaction soon after getting elected, Chandee said, "We were hopeful that we will win and that is what has happened".

Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma said the result was on expected lines as the people of Gambegre wanted for change especially in terms of development.

"We are very happy that the people of Gambegre voted for development and we are committed to that. I take this opportunity to thank the people of Gambegre," said Sangma.

"Voters are intelligent. They know what is good for them and how they should vote in every election. In this election, people have voted specifically for change in terms of the constituency and development," he said.

Patna | The ruling NDA alliance in Bihar has established lead in assembly by-polls in all four constituents where counting of votes was underway on Saturday, according to initial trends.

The by-elections were held on November 13 in Tarari, Belaganj, Imamganj and Ramgarh seats.

According to the Election Commission of India (ECI) website, Vishal Prashant of the BJP was leading in Tarari by 10,612 votes over his nearest rival Raju Yadav of the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation after the completion of the 12th round of counting.

In the Imamganj constituency, Deepa Kumari of the Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular), an alliance partner of the NDA, was leading by 5,563 votes over her nearest rival Raushan Kumar of the RJD after the 12th round of counting. Initially, Kumari, the daughter-in-law of Union Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi, was trailing.

Manjhi, who previously represented the Imamganj seat, vacated it following his election to Lok Sabha from Gaya in the 2024 parliamentary elections.

In the Belaganj assembly seat, Manorma Devi of JD(U), which is also an alliance partner of the NDA, was leading by 20,968 over her nearest rival Vishwanath Kumar Singh of the RJD after completion of 11th rounds of counting.

Ashok Kumar Singh of the BJP was leading by 719 votes in Ramgarh over his nearest rival Satish Kumar Singh Yadav of the Bahujan Samaj Party after 10th rounds of counting.

Counting to the four assembly constituencies began at 8 AM amid tight security arrangements.

All four assembly constituencies fell vacant after MLAs representing these were elected in the last Lok Sabha polls.

Bengaluru | The ruling Congress in Karnataka on Saturday retained its strong hold of Sandur, with its candidate E Annapoorna, winning the Assembly bypoll by a margin of 9,649 votes.

Annapoorna, the wife of Bellary MP E Tukaram, won the seat vacated by her husband, defeating BJP ST Morcha president Bangaru Hanumanthu.

The bypoll for the Sandur seat was necessitated following the election of E Tukaram of Congress to Lok Sabha in May elections.

The by-election was held on November 13 and the votes were counted today.

While Annapoorna secured 93,616 votes, Hanumanthu got 83,967 votes, the Election Commission said.

Tukaram, who had represented Sandur four times, had won the seat for Congress in the 2023 Assembly polls by a margin of 35,522 votes, securing 85,223 votes.

Chandigarh | Congress candidate Kuldeep Singh Dhillon won the Barnala assembly segment, defeating AAP's Harinder Singh Dhaliwal by a margin of 2,157 votes, said officials.

In the multi-cornered contest, Dhillon secured 28,254 votes, while Dhaliwal got 26,097 votes.

BJP candidate Kewal Singh Dhillon secured 17,958 votes, while AAP rebel and Independent candidate Gurdeep Singh Batth secured 16,899 votes. Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) candidate Govind Singh Sandhu got 7,900 votes.

Bypolls to Gidderbaha, Dera Baba Nanak, Chabbewal (SC) and Barnala took place on November 20. The bypolls were necessitated after the incumbent legislators were elected to the Lok Sabha earlier this year.

Palanpur | Congress candidate Gulabsinh Rajput widened his lead by 13,978 votes over his BJP rival Swarupji Thakor after 13 rounds of counting in the by-elections to the Vav assembly seat in Gujarat's Banaskantha district.

Rajput polled 60,362 votes against Thakor's 46,384, and with 15,927 votes, independent candidate Mavji Patel was placed third at the end of the 13th round.

The counting of votes will be conducted in 23 rounds in 321 booths at the counting centre.

The bypoll was necessitated following the resignation of Congress MLA Geniben Thakor, who was elected to the Lok Sabha from Banaskantha in June.

The constituency recorded a 70.55 per cent turnout in the by-election on November 13.

The Vav election was a three-cornered fight, with BJP rebel Mavji Patel giving a tough fight to Congress' Rajput and BJP's Thakor.

Seven other candidates — six independents and one from the Bharatiya Jan Parishad party — were also in the fray for the bypoll necessitated following the resignation of Congress MLA Geniben Thakor, who was elected to the Lok Sabha from Banaskantha in June.

In the 2022 assembly polls, BJP's Swarupji Thakor lost from Vav seat, a Congress bastion, to opposition party candidate Geniben Thakor.

Mavji Patel (73), who comes from the dominant Chaudhary community, was suspended as BJP's primary member on Sunday for his decision to contest as an independent candidate.

The constituency has been a Congress stronghold, with Geniben Thakor winning the seat in 2017 and again in 2022.

In the general elections held earlier this year, Geniben Thakor defeated BJP's Rekhaben Chaudhary, a debutant, by more than 30,000 votes in Banaskantha, becoming the only Congress candidate to register a win in Gujarat.

At least 159 government employees were involved in the counting of votes, they said.

Also, 400 police personnel, CAPF, and SRP personnel are posted at the counting centre equipped with CCTV cameras.

Chandigarh | AAP candidate Ishank Kumar Chabbewal won the Chabbewal assembly seat in Punjab on Saturday, defeating his nearest rival and Congress nominee Ranjit Kumar by a margin of 28,690 votes, according to officials.

Ishank Kumar, a doctor, polled 51,904 votes and Ranjit Kumar secured 23,214 votes. The BJP's Sohan Singh Thandal was a distant third with 8,692 votes, Election Commission data showed.

The Chabbewal bypoll was necessitated after Ishank Kumar's father Raj Kumar Chabbewal, who was a Congress MLA but later joined the AAP, was elected to the Lok Sabha from Hoshiarpur.

Raj Kumar was elected to the Punjab Assembly from Chabbewal in 2017 and 2022 on Congress tickets.

Counting of votes for the bypolls to the four assembly seats in Punjab began at 8 am.

Besides Chabbewal (SC), Gidderbaha, Dera Baba Nanak and Barnala went to polls on November 20. The bypolls were necessitated after the four MLAs were elected to the Lok Sabha.

Kolkata | The TMC won three seats, wresting the key Madarihat seat from the BJP, and took unassailable leads in three others across all six assembly constituencies where bypolls were held, reinforcing its stronghold in West Bengal despite ongoing protests over the RG Kar Medical College incident.

The bypolls were held in six constituencies — Naihati, Haroa, Medinipur, Taldangra, Sitai (SC), and Madarihat (ST) — after the resignation of sitting MLAs who vacated their assembly seats after winning seats in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

These elections were seen as a crucial test for the state's ruling party, especially as they come amidst a politically charged environment, heightened by the RG Kar Medical College protests.

In Sitai (SC), TMC's Sangita Roy won by a margin of 1,30,636 votes bagging 1,65,200 votes, while her nearest rival, BJP's Dipak Kumar Ray, received 35,348 votes, signalling TMC's dominant performance in the Scheduled Caste seat.

In Madarihat (ST), a key battleground where the BJP had won in 2021, TMC's Jayprakash Toppo bagged 79,186 votes, 28,168 votes more than BJP's Rahul Lohar, who secured 51,018 votes, indicating TMC's return to take control of the strategically important seat in the state tea garden's belt.

In Naihati, TMC's Sanat Dey won the seat bagging 78,772 votes, 49,277 more than BJP's Rupak Mitra, who received 29,495 votes.

According to the latest updates, TMC candidates are leading by significant margins in the other three constituencies.

In Haroa, TMC's SK Rabiul Islam is leading with 1,25,958 votes, a commanding margin of 1,03,144 votes over Piyarul Islam of the All India Secular Front, who has secured only 22,814 votes, as recorded in the 11th round of counting, reflecting TMC's continued dominance in South Bengal.

In Medinipur, TMC's Sujoy Hazra is leading with 74,673 votes, a margin of 22,417 votes over BJP's Subhajit Roy (Bunty), who has secured 52,256 votes.

In Taldangra, TMC's Falguni Singhababu is ahead with 54,327 votes, maintaining a lead of 20,273 votes over BJP's Ananya Roy Chakraborty, who has received 34,054 votes.

Five of the six constituencies are located in South Bengal, which has traditionally been a stronghold of the TMC, while Madarihat in the northern part of the state had been won by the BJP in 2021.

The bypolls have added an extra layer of intensity to the ongoing political climate, already charged by protests over the RG Kar incident.

TMC leaders emphasised that despite the negative campaign against the state government following the RG Kar incident, where a doctor was raped and murdered in August, people of West Bengal have continued to place their trust in Mamata Banerjee's leadership.

Senior TMC leader and North Bengal Development Minister Udayan Guha said, "People have kept their faith in us, and the results reflect that the opposition, along with certain sections of the media spreading false claims against us, have been rejected by the masses." On the other hand, BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar downplayed the significance of the bypoll results, calling it a normal trend for the ruling party to win such elections.

"Bypoll results cannot serve as a reliable indicator. Whether the people are with the TMC or against them will be reflected in the upcoming assembly elections," said Majumdar, who is also a Union Minister.

The bypoll results are a shot in the arm for the TMC after the party's performance in the Lok Sabha polls when it had bagged 29 parliamentary seats, up from 22 in 2019.

The results are a fresh disappointment for the BJP after its dismal performance in the parliamentary elections when its tally came down to 12 from 18 in 2019.

Raipur | BJP candidate Sunil Kumar Soni was leading by 20,629 votes over his Congress rival Akash Sharma in the Raipur City South assembly bypoll after the 10th round of counting of votes, officials said on Saturday.

The counting of votes began at 8 am at the Government Engineering College Sejbahar here amid tight security.

The bypoll was necessitated after sitting BJP legislator and former state minister Brijmohan Agrawal resigned following his election to Lok Sabha from Raipur parliamentary constituency.

"After the 10th round of counting, BJP's Soni was leading by a margin of 20,629 votes against Congress candidate Sharma. Soni has secured 42,667 votes so far, while Sharma has received 22,038 votes after the 10th round of counting," an official said.

Voting for the bypoll took place on November 13 and the turnout was recorded at 50.50 per cent.

There were 30 contestants were in the fray, though the main fight was between the ruling BJP and the opposition Congress.

In the 2023 assembly polls, BJP's Agrawal had secured 1,09,263 votes and won with a record margin of 67,719 votes.

The seat is considered a Bharatiya Janata Party bastion.

Bengaluru | Ruling Congress in Karnataka was ahead in all three -- Channapatna, Shiggaon and Sandur -- Assembly segments, as the counting of votes was underway on Saturday for by-polls held there.

Congress is maintaining a steady lead in Sandur, the seat considered to be its strong hold, and the party is also a front-runner to bag Shiggaon and Channapatna segments, which were earlier held by BJP and JD(S) respectively.

The by-election to three segments was held on November 13.

The bypolls to Sandur, Shiggaon and Channapatna were necessitated as the seats fell vacant following the election of their respective representatives -- E Tukaram of Congress, former CM Basavaraj Bommai of BJP, and Union Minister H D Kumaraswamy of JD(S) to Lok Sabha in May elections.

The bypolls witnessed a straight fight between the ruling Congress and BJP in Sandur and Shiggaon segments, while in Channapatna, JD(S) which is part of the NDA took on the grand old party.

In Channapatna, which witnessed a "high profile" battle, among the three segments, JD(S)' actor-turned-politician Nikhil Kumaraswamy, who is the son of Kumaraswamy and former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda's grandson, is trailing against Congress' C P Yogeeshwara by a margin of 24,831 votes, by getting 69,070 votes so far, according to Election Commission.

A five-time MLA from the segment and a former minister, Yogeeshwara, who is also an actor-turned-politician has secured 93,901 votes. He had joined the Congress after quitting BJP ahead of nomination.

BJP and JD(S) leaders had together campaigned for Nikhil in Channapatna.

In Shiggaon, BJP's Bharath Bommai, son of Basavaraj Bommai is trailing with a margin of 14,125 votes against Congress' Yasir Ahmed Khan Pathan, who had faced defeat against the former chief minister in the 2023 Assembly polls.

While Bharath Bommai has got 74,860 votes, Pathan has secured 88,985 votes so far, according to the Election Commission.

In Sandur, Bellary MP Tukaram's wife E Annapurna of Congress has maintained her lead in the seat vacated by her husband, against BJP ST Morcha president Bangaru Hanumanthu, by a margin of 9,568 votes.

While Annapurna got 93,051 votes so far, Hanumanthu received 83,483 votes.

With Nikhil Kumaraswamy and Bharath Bommai contesting, the third generation of Gowda and Bommai families were in the fray in this by-poll battle. Both their fathers and grandfathers have served as Karnataka's Chief Ministers in the past.

Lucknow | The BJP and its ally RLD were leading in six of the nine Uttar Pradesh Assembly seats where bypolls were held earlier this week while the Samajwadi Party was ahead in the remaining three, Election Commission trends showed on Saturday.

The BJP was in the lead in Kundarki, Khair, Ghaziabad, Phulpur and Majhawan seats, the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) in Meerapur and the Samajwadi Party (SP) in Karhal, Katehari and Sisamau.

In Meerapur, the RLD's Mithilesh Pal is leading by a margin of 18,281 votes against the Samajwadi Party candidate.

The BJP's Ramveer Singh is leading in Kundarki by a margin of 64,690 votes while his party colleague Sanjeev Sharma is leading by 38,007 votes in Ghaziabad. Surender Diler is leading by a margin of 19,884 votes in the Khair (SC) seat.

In Phulpur, the BJP's Deepak Patel is leading by a margin of 3,877 votes and in Majhawan party candidate Shuchismita Maurya is leading by a margin of 2,772 votes.

In Karhal, the Samajwadi Party's Tej Pratap Yadav is leading by a margin of 23,655 votes while his party colleague Naseem Solanki is ahead of her nearest rival in Sishamau by a margin of 14,536 votes.

The Samajwadi Party's Shobwati Verma is leading by a margin of 2929 votes in Katehari's seat.

In the 2022 Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls, the BJP won Phulpur, Ghaziabad, Majhawan and Khair seats and the SP secured Sisamau, Katehari, Karhal and Kundarki.

The RLD, which was an SP ally then, won the Meerapur seat. The party has since switched sides and is now part of the BJP-led NDA.

The Congress did not contest the bypolls and extended support to the SP, its INDIA bloc ally.

The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) contested all nine seats and the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) fielded candidates from Ghaziabad, Kundarki and Meerapur.

The Aazad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram), led by Chandrashekhar Aazad, also contested all seats except Sisamau.

In the current assembly, the BJP has 251 MLAs and the SP 105.

BJP allies, such as Apna Dal (Sonelal), RLD, Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party and NISHAD Party, also have members in the House. The Congress and the Jansatta Dal Loktantrik hold two seats each and the BSP one.

Lucknow | The BJP and its ally RLD were leading in six of the nine Uttar Pradesh Assembly seats where bypolls were held earlier this week while the Samajwadi Party was ahead in the remaining three, Election Commission trends showed on Saturday.

The BJP was in the lead in Kundarki, Khair, Ghaziabad, Phulpur and Majhawan seats, the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) in Meerapur and the Samajwadi Party (SP) in Karhal, Katehari and Sisamau.

In the 2022 Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls, the BJP won Phulpur, Ghaziabad, Majhawan and Khair seats and the SP secured Sisamau, Katehari, Karhal and Kundarki.

The RLD, which was an SP ally then, won the Meerapur seat. The party has since switched sides and is now part of the BJP-led NDA.

The Congress did not contest the bypolls and extended support to the SP, its INDIA bloc ally.

The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) contested all nine seats and the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) fielded candidates from three -- Ghaziabad, Kundarki and Meerapur. The two parties are trailing.

The Aazad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram), led by Chandrashekhar Aazad, also contested all seats except Sisamau.

In the current assembly, the BJP has 251 MLAs and the SP 105.

BJP allies, such as Apna Dal (Sonelal), RLD, Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party and NISHAD Party, also have members in the House. The Congress and the Jansatta Dal Loktantrik hold two seats each and the BSP one.

Lucknow | The BJP and its ally RLD were leading in six of the nine Uttar Pradesh Assembly seats where bypolls were held earlier this week while the Samajwadi Party was ahead in the remaining three, Election Commission trends showed on Saturday.

The BJP was in the lead in Kundarki, Khair, Ghaziabad, Phulpur and Majhawan seats, the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) in Meerapur and the Samajwadi Party (SP) in Karhal, Katehari and Sisamau.

In the 2022 Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls, the BJP won Phulpur, Ghaziabad, Majhawan and Khair seats and the SP secured Sisamau, Katehari, Karhal and Kundarki.

The RLD, which was an SP ally then, won the Meerapur seat. The party has since switched sides and is now part of the BJP-led NDA.

The Congress did not contest the bypolls and extended support to the SP, its INDIA bloc ally.

The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) contested all nine seats and the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) fielded candidates from three -- Ghaziabad, Kundarki and Meerapur. The two parties are trailing.

The Aazad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram), led by Chandrashekhar Aazad, also contested all seats except Sisamau.

In the current assembly, the BJP has 251 MLAs and the SP 105.

BJP allies, such as Apna Dal (Sonelal), RLD, Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party and NISHAD Party, also have members in the House. The Congress and the Jansatta Dal Loktantrik hold two seats each and the BSP one.

Bhopal | The BJP is leading in the Budhni and Vijaypur assembly constituencies in Madhya Pradesh, where by-elections were held on November 13, officials said.

These trends were recorded in the initial rounds of counting.

According to an election official, BJP's Ramakant Bhargava is leading by 1,809 votes against Congress candidate Rajkumar Patel in Budhni after three rounds of counting.

Bhargava was earlier trailing by 953 votes after the second round of counting.

BJP candidate Ramniwas Rawat is leading by 5,001 votes against Congress Mukesh Malhotra after ten rounds of counting in the Vijaypur assembly seat.

The Budhni seat will see 13 rounds of counting, while there will be 21 rounds in Vijaypur.

The Budhni seat fell vacant after sitting BJP MLA and former CM Chouhan was elected to the Lok Sabha from Vidisha in June. The BJP stalwart was later inducted into the Union Cabinet and allocated the key agriculture portfolio.

The bypoll in Vijaypur was necessitated after sitting Congress MLA Ramniwas Rawat resigned and joined the ruling BJP.

He was later inducted as a minister in the Mohan Yadav cabinet. Rawat contested against tribal leader Mukesh Malhotra of the Congress.

Kolkata | Ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) candidates have taken an unassailable lead in the bypolls held in the six assembly constituencies in West Bengal, with counting underway since 8 am on Saturday.

These results are drawing significant attention, especially in light of the ongoing protests related to the RG Kar Medical College incident, which has sparked public outcry in the state.

The bypolls were held in Naihati, Haroa, Medinipur, Taldangra, Sitai (SC), and Madarihat (ST), following the resignation of sitting MLAs who had secured victories in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, thus vacating their assembly seats.

These elections are seen as an important political test for the state's ruling party.

In Sitai, a Scheduled Caste (SC) constituency, TMC's Sangita Roy is leading by 1,22,342 votes, 93,208 more than her nearest rival, Dipak Kumar Ray of the BJP, who has so far secured 29,134 votes.

In Madarihat, a Scheduled Tribe (ST) seat, TMC's Jayprakash Toppo is leading by 66,315 votes, ahead of BJP's Rahul Lohar, who has received 25,165 votes. The seat was won by the BJP in the 2021 assembly polls.

In Naihati, TMC's Sanat Dey has bagged 71,759 votes against BJP's Rupak Mitra's 26,785.

In Haroa, TMC's SK Rabiul Islam has garnered 91,369 votes, against his rival, Piyarul Islam of the All India Secular Front, who is trailing with 14,211 votes.

TMC's Sujoy Hazra is leading in Medinipur with 65,168 votes, 21,032 more than BJP's Subhajit Roy (Bunty), who has secured 44,136 votes.

In Taldangra, TMC's Falguni Singhababu has polled 43,979 votes, 16,101 more than BJP's Ananya Roy Chakraborty, who has received 27,878 votes.

Of the six constituencies, five are located in South Bengal, a stronghold of the TMC, while Madarihat, in the northern part of the state, had been won by the BJP in the 2021 assembly elections, making it a key battleground in the region.

Despite the BJP's hopes of retaining its northern seat in Madarihat, the party is currently trailing behind TMC in all constituencies.

The bypolls come at a time when the state's political landscape is charged with protest movements, especially surrounding the RG Kar incident, which has added a layer of intensity to the electoral battle.

Chandigarh | The Aam Aadmi Party was leading from Chabbewal, Gidderbaha and Dera Baba Nanak while the Congress was ahead in Barnala segment in Punjab, showed trends in the counting of votes bypolls to four Assembly segments in the state on Saturday.

In Chabbewal, the AAP's Ishank Kumar Chabbewal consolidated his pole position as he was leading by 21,081 votes against his nearest rival and Congress candidate Ranjit Kumar after the 10th round of counting. The BJP's Sohan Singh Thandal was in the third spot.

Sensing victory, Ishank's supporters have already started celebrating.

In Gidderbaha, AAP's Hardeep Singh Dimpy Dhillon was leading by 5,976 votes against his nearest rival and Congress nominee Amrita Warring, the wife of Punjab Congress chief Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, after four rounds of counting.

BJP candidate and former Punjab finance minister Manpreet Singh Badal was in the third spot.

In Barnala, Congress candidate Kuldeep Singh Dhillon is leading by 2,750 votes against his nearest rival and BJP nominee Kewal Singh Dhillon after the eight rounds of counting. AAP candidate Harinder Singh Dhaliwal was trailing at the third spot.

The Dera Baba Nanak was witnessing a neck-and-neck contest between the Congress and AAP.

AAP candidate Gurdeep Singh Randhawa was leading by 505 votes against Congress candidate Jatinder Kaur Randhawa after nine rounds of counting.

Kaur was leading from the third to the eighth round of counting. She is the wife of Congress MP from Gurdaspur Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa.

Counting of votes for the bypolls to Punjab's four assembly segments began at 8 am on Saturday.

Bypolls to Gidderbaha, Dera Baba Nanak, Chabbewal (SC) and Barnala took place on November 20. The bypolls were necessitated after the incumbent legislators were elected to the Lok Sabha earlier this year.

Guwahati | The ruling NDA alliance in Assam is leading in four of the five assembly constituencies where bypolls were held recently, while the opposition Congress is leading in one, officials said on Saturday.

In Samaguri assembly constituency, held by the Congress for the last five terms, party candidate Tanzil Hussain, who was initially trailing, had established a slender lead of 643 votes over his BJP rival Diplu Ranjan Sarma at the end of the third round of counting, officials said.

In Behali, BJP's Diganta Ghatowal is leading by 5,586 votes over his nearest Congress rival Jayanta Bora at the end of the seventh round. In Bongaigaon, AGP's Diptimayee Choudhury has taken a lead of 8,967 votes over her Congress opponent Brajenjit Singha at the end of the sixth round of counting.

In Sidli (ST) constituency, United Peoples' Party Liberal (UPPL) candidate Nirmal Kumar Brahma has secured an unassailable lead of 14,445 votes over his BPF rival Suddho Kumar Basumatary at the end of the eighth round.

In Barak Valley's Dholai (SC) constituency, BJP's Nihar Ranjan Das is leading by 6784 votes over his Congress rival Dhrubajyoti Purkayastha at the end of third round of counting.

Counting of votes for five assembly constituencies where byelections were held on November 13 began amid tight security from 8 am to decide the fate of 34 candidates.

Bypolls were held in the five assembly constituencies as these fell vacant following the election of the previous representatives to the Lok Sabha earlier this year.

The BJP contested in three of the five constituencies - Behali, Samaguri and Dholai (SC) - while its alliance partner AGP and UPPL had put up candidates for Bongaigaon and Sidli(ST) seats, respectively.

The Congress contested in all the five constituencies.

Around 75.67 per cent of the electorate exercised their franchise in these five assembly constituencies.

Bengaluru | Ruling Congress in Karnataka was ahead in all three -- Channapatna, Shiggaon and Sandur -- Assembly segments, as the counting of votes is underway on Saturday for by-polls held there.

Congress has been maintaining a steady lead in Sandur, since counting began earlier in the day and it has now also emerged as the front-runner in Channapatna and Shiggaon segments, where JD(S) and BJP were leading earlier, according to Election Commission numbers.

The by-election to three segments was held on November 13.

The bypolls to Sandur, Shiggaon and Channapatna were necessitated as the seats fell vacant following the election of their respective representatives -- E Tukaram of Congress, former CM Basavaraj Bommai of BJP, and Union Minister H D Kumaraswamy of JD(S) to Lok Sabha in May elections.

The bypolls witnessed a straight fight between the ruling Congress and BJP in Sandur and Shiggaon segments, while in Channapatna, JD(S) which is part of the NDA took on the grand old party.

In Channapatna, which witnessed a "high profile" battle, among the three segments, JD(S)' actor-turned-politician Nikhil Kumaraswamy, who is the son of Kumaraswamy and former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda's grandson, is trailing against Congress' C P Yogeeshwara by a margin of 19,793 votes, by getting 41,472 votes so far, according to Election Commission.

A five-time MLA from the segment and a former minister, Yogeeshwara, who is also an actor-turned-politician has secured 61,265 votes. He had joined the Congress after quitting the BJP ahead of his nomination.

BJP and JD(S) leaders had together campaigned for Nikhil in Channapatna.

In Shiggaon, BJP's Bharath Bommai, son of Basavaraj Bommai is trailing with a margin of 1,158 votes against Congress' Yasir Ahmed Khan Pathan, who had faced defeat against the former chief minister in the 2023 Assembly polls.

While Bharath Bommai has got 43,399 votes, Pathan has got 44,557 votes so far, according to the Election Commission.

In Sandur, Bellary MP Tukaram's wife E Annapurna of Congress has maintained her lead in the seat vacated by her husband, against BJP ST Morcha president Bangaru Hanumanthu, by a margin of 6,562 votes.

While Annapurna got 67,124 votes so far, Hanumanthu secured 60,562 votes.

With Nikhil Kumaraswamy and Bharath Bommai contesting, the third generation of Gowda and Bommai families were in the fray in this bypoll battle. Both their fathers and grandfathers have served as Karnataka's Chief Ministers in the past.

Bhopal | The Congress is leading in Budhni, while the BJP is ahead in Vijaypur assembly constituency in Madhya Pradesh where byelections were held on November 13, officials said.

These trends were recorded in the initial rounds of counting of votes that is currently underway.

In Budhni, Congress candidate Rajkumar Patel is leading by 953 votes against the BJP's Ramakant Bhargava after the second round, a poll official said.

A total of 13 rounds will be conducted for counting of votes in Budhni seat.

In Vijaypur, BJP's Ramniwas Rawat is leading by a margin of 8,661 votes against Congress Mukesh Malhotra after completion of eighth round.

A total of 21 rounds will take place for counting of votes in Vijaypur seat.

The Budhni seat fell vacant after sitting BJP MLA and former CM Chouhan was elected to the Lok Sabha from Vidisha in June. The BJP stalwart was later inducted into the Union Cabinet and allocated the key agriculture portfolio.

The bypoll to Vijaypur was necessitated after sitting Congress MLA Ramniwas Rawat resigned and joined the ruling BJP. He was later inducted as a minister in the Mohan Yadav cabinet. Rawat contested against tribal leader Mukesh Malhotra of the Congress.

Kolkata | Trinamool Congress (TMC) candidates have taken an unassailable lead in the bypolls held for six assembly constituencies in West Bengal, with counting underway since 8 am on Saturday.

These results are drawing significant attention, especially in light of the ongoing protests related to the RG Kar Medical College incident, which has sparked public outcry in the state.

The bypolls were held in Naihati, Haroa, Medinipur, Taldangra, Sitai (SC), and Madarihat (ST), following the resignation of sitting MLAs who had secured victories in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, thus vacating their assembly seats.

These elections are seen as an important political test for the state's ruling party.

In Sitai, a Scheduled Caste (SC) constituency, TMC's Sangita Roy is leading by 73,452 votes, a margin of 60,493 votes over her nearest rival, Dipak Kumar Ray of the BJP, who has so far secured 12,959 votes.

In Madarihat, a Scheduled Tribe (ST) seat, TMC's Jayprakash Toppo is leading by 39,353 votes, ahead of BJP's Rahul Lohar, who has received 21,375 votes. The seat was won by the BJP in the 2021 assembly polls.

In Naihati, TMC's Sanat Dey has secured a substantial lead, having received 40,663 votes against BJP's Rupak Mitra's 15,461.

In Haroa, TMC's SK Rabiul Islam has garnered 48,107 votes, against his rival, Piyarul Islam of the All India Secular Front, who is trailing with 6,441 votes.

TMC's Sujoy Hazra is leading in Medinipur with 32,777 votes, holding a margin of 11,398 votes over BJP's Subhajit Roy (Bunty), who has secured 21,379 votes.

In Taldangra, TMC's Falguni Singhababu is ahead with 17,280 votes, maintaining a lead of 6,324 votes over BJP's Ananya Roy Chakraborty, who has received 10,956 votes.

Of the six constituencies, five are located in South Bengal, a stronghold of the TMC, while Madarihat, in the northern part of the state, had been won by the BJP in the 2021 assembly elections, making it a key battleground in the region.

These early results reflect TMC's stronghold in the state, particularly in South Bengal, where the party has maintained its dominance.

Despite the BJP's hopes of retaining its northern seat in Madarihat, the party is currently trailing behind TMC in all constituencies.

The by-polls come at a time when the state's political landscape is charged with protest movements, especially surrounding the RG Kar incident, which has added a layer of intensity to the electoral battle.

Chandigarh | The Aam Aadmi Party was leading from Chabbewal and Gidderbaha while the Congress was ahead in Dera Baba Nanak and Barnala segments in Punjab, showed initial trends in the counting of votes bypolls to four Assembly segments in the state on Saturday.

In Chabbewal, the AAP's Ishank Kumar Chabbewal consolidated his position as he was leading by 8,508 votes against his nearest rival and Congress candidate Ranjit Kumar after the fifth round of counting. The BJP's Sohan Singh Thandal was in the third spot.

In Gidderbaha, AAP's Hardeep Singh Dimpy Dhillon was leading by 1,699 votes against his nearest rival and Congress nominee Amrita Warring, the wife of Punjab Congress chief Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, after the two rounds of counting.

BJP candidate and former Punjab finance minister Manpreet Singh Badal was in the third spot.

The Dera Baba Nanak and Barnala segments witnessed neck-and-neck contests between the Congress and AAP.

In Barnala, Congress candidate Kuldeep Singh Dhillon was leading by 1,188 votes against AAP's Harinder Singh Dhaliwal after the six rounds of counting. BJP's Kewal Dhillon was in the third spot.

In Dera Baba Nanak, Congress candidate Jatinder Kaur Randhawa was leading by 421 votes against AAP candidate Gurdeep Singh Randhawa after four rounds of counting. Kaur is the wife of Congress MP from Gurdaspur Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa. BJP's Ravikaran Kahlon was at the third spot.

Counting of votes for the bypolls to Punjab's four assembly segments began at 8 am on Saturday.

Bypolls to Gidderbaha, Dera Baba Nanak, Chabbewal (SC) and Barnala took place on November 20. The bypolls were necessitated after the incumbent legislators were elected to the Lok Sabha earlier this year.

Patna | Ruling NDA candidates were leading in Tarari and Belaganj constituencies, while the RJD, part of the INDIA bloc, was ahead in Imamganj, and Bahujan Samaj Party in Ramgarh, according to initial trends of counting for the bypolls to four Assembly constituencies in Bihar.

According to the Election Commission of India (ECI) website, BSP's Yadav was leading in Ramgarh by 3,500 votes over his nearest rival, Ashok Kumar Singh of the BJP, after the completion of the second round of counting.

In Imamganj constituency, RJD's Raushan Kumar was leading by 2,304 votes against Deepa Kumari of the Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular).

After the third round of counting, Kumar secured 13,352 votes, while Kumari, the daughter-in-law of Union Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi, had received 11,048 votes.

Manjhi, who previously represented the Imamganj seat, vacated it following his election to the Gaya Lok Sabha seat in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

Counting to the four Assembly constituencies—Tarari, Imamganj, Belaganj, and Ramgarh—began at 8 AM amid tight security arrangements.

The by-elections, held on November 13, are crucial for the ruling NDA, the INDIA bloc, and the newly formed Jan Suraaj party.

More than 12 lakh voters decided the electoral fate of 38 candidates in these four assembly seats.

All four assembly constituencies fell vacant after MLAs representing these were elected in the last Lok Sabha polls.

Chandigarh | The Aam Aadmi Party was leading from Chabbewal, Gidderbaha and Dera Baba Nanak seats while Congress was ahead in the Barnala segment in Punjab, showed initial trends in the counting of votes bypolls to four Assembly segments in the state on Saturday.

In Dera Baba Nanak, AAP's Hardeep Singh Dimpy Dhillon was leading by 1,044 votes against his nearest rival and Congress nominee Amrita Warring, the wife of Punjab Congress chief Amarinder Singh Raja Warring.

BJP candidate and former Punjab finance minister Manpreet Singh Badal was in the third spot.

In Chabbewal, AAP candidate Ishank Kumar Chabbewal was leading by 3,308 votes against his nearest rival and Congress candidate Ranjit Kumar after the second round of counting. The BJP's Sohan Singh Thandal was in the third spot.

Congress candidate Kuldeep Singh Dhillon was leading by 360 votes against AAP's Harinder Singh Dhaliwal after the fourth round of counting. BJP's Kewal Dhillon was in the third spot.

In Dera Baba Nanak, AAP candidate Gurdeep Singh Randhawa was leading by 265 votes against Congress candidate Jatinder Kaur after two rounds of counting. Kaur is the wife of Congress MP from Gurdaspur Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa.

BJP's Ravikaran Kahlon was at the third spot.

Counting of votes for the bypolls to Punjab's four assembly segments began at 8 am on Saturday.

Bypolls to Gidderbaha, Dera Baba Nanak, Chabbewal (SC) and Barnala took place on November 20. The bypolls were necessitated after the incumbent legislators were elected to the Lok Sabha earlier this year.

Guwahati | The ruling NDA alliance in Assam has secured early leads in four of the five assembly constituencies where bypolls were held recently, officials said on Saturday.

In Behali, BJP's Diganta Ghatowal is leading by 1,091 votes over his nearest Congress rival Jayanta Bora while in Bongaigaon, AGP's Diptimayee Choudhury has taken a slender lead of 674 votes over her Congress opponent Brajenjit Singha.

In Sidli (ST) constituency, United Peoples' Party Liberal (UPPL) candidate Nirmal Kumar Brahma is ahead of his BPF rival Suddho Kumar Basumatary by 1,089 votes.

In Samaguri constituency, BJP's Diplu Ranjan Sarmah is leading by 1,048 votes over his Congress rival Tanzil Hussain.

The trend of Dholai (SC) is yet to come in.

The counting of votes for five assembly constituencies where byelections were held on November 13 began amid tight security from 8 am to decide the fate of 34 candidates.

Bypolls were held in the five assembly constituencies as these fell vacant following the election of the previous representatives to the Lok Sabha earlier this year.

The BJP contested in three of the five constituencies- Behali, Samaguri and Dholai (SC) while its alliance partner AGP and UPPL had put up candidates for Bongaigaon and Sidli(ST) seats respectively.

The Congress contested in all the five constituencies.

Around 75.67 per cent of the electorate exercised their franchise in these five assembly constituencies.

Lucknow | The BJP was leading in four seats while the Samajwadi Party was ahead in two of the nine assembly seats for which bypolls were held, according to Election Commission trends on Saturday.

The trends in the other three seats were yet to be reflected.

While BJP candidates are leading in Kundarki, Khair, Sisamau and Majhawan seats, the SP candidates have an edge in Karhal and Phulpur.

In the 2022 Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls, the BJP won the Phulpur, Ghaziabad, Majhawan and Khair seats, while the SP secured victories in Sisamau, Katehari, Karhal and Kundarki.

The Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD), which was an SP ally then, won the Meerapur seat. The party has since switched sides and is now a part of the BJP-led NDA.

While the Congress did not contest the bypolls, it extended support to the SP, its INDIA bloc ally.

The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) contested all nine seats independently, while Asaduddin Owaisi's All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) fielded candidates in Ghaziabad, Kundarki and Meerapur.

The Aazad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram), led by Chandrashekhar Azad, also contested all seats except Sisamau.

In the current Assembly, the BJP has 251 MLAs, followed by the SP (105). BJP allies, such as Apna Dal (Sonelal), RLD, Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP) and NISHAD Party, hold additional seats, while the Congress and the Jansatta Dal Loktantrik have two seats each and the BSP has one.

Gangtok | Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM) candidates Aditya Golay and Satish Chandra Rai were on Saturday elected unopposed in the bypolls to Soreng-Chakung and Namchi-Singhithang assembly constituencies, officials said.

Golay was the only candidate in the fray for the bypolls to Soreng-Chakung seat after SDF's Probin Hang Subba withdrew his nomination.

Rai was elected unopposed from Namchi-Singhithang assembly constituency as he was the sole candidate in the fray, following the withdrawal of candidature by SDF nominee Daniel Rai.

Jaipur | The BJP was leading in three seats while the Congress and the Bharat Adivasi Party were leading in two segments each in the initial rounds of counting of votes cast in the bypolls to seven assembly seats in Rajasthan.

Dehradun | BJP's Asha Nautiyal was on Saturday leading in the Kedarnath seat after the end of first round of counting, poll officials said.

She was leading over Congress's Manoj Rawat The assembly seat in Rudraprayag district fell vacant after the death of BJP MLA Shaila Rani Rawat in July this year.

BJP candidates Rajendra Bhambhoo, Rajendra Gurjar and Revant Ram Danga were leading in Jhunjhunu, Deoli Uniara and Khinwsar seats, respectively.

The Congress' Aryaan Zubair was leading in Ramgarh and Deen Dayal in Dausa seats. In Salumbar and Chorasi, Bharat Adivasi Party candidates Jitesh Kumar Katara and Anil Kumar Katara were respectively in the lead.

Bypolls to these seven seats were held on November 13.

Chandigarh | The Aam Aadmi Party was leading from Barnala and Chabbewal seats while Congress was ahead in the Dera Baba Nanak segment in Punjab, showed initial trends in the counting of votes bypolls to four Assembly segments in the state on Saturday.

In Chabbewal, AAP candidate Ishank Kumar was leading by 1,571 votes against his nearest rival and Congress candidate Ranjit Kumar. The BJP's Sohan Singh Thandal was in the third spot.

The AAP's Harinder Singh Dhaliwal was leading by 846 votes against Congress candidate Kuldeep Singh Dhillon in the Barnala assembly segment. BJP's Kewal Dhillon was at the third spot.

Congress candidate from Dera Baba Nanak Jatinder Kaur Randhawa was leading by 805 votes against her nearest rival and AAP nominee Gurdeep Singh Randhawa. BJP's Ravikaran Kahlon was at the third spot.

Counting of votes for the bypolls to Punjab's four assembly segments began at 8 am on Saturday.

Bypolls to Gidderbaha, Dera Baba Nanak, Chabbewal (SC) and Barnala took place on November 20. The bypolls were necessitated after the incumbent legislators were elected to the Lok Sabha earlier this year.

Chandigarh | AAP candidate Harinder Singh Dhaliwal was leading in the bypoll to Barnala assembly segment against his nearest rival the Congress' Kuldeep Singh Dhillon, the initial trend showed.

Dhaliwal was leading by 634 votes while BJP's Kewal Dhillon was in the third spot.

The counting of votes for the bypolls to Punjab's four assembly segments began at 8 am on Saturday.

Bypolls to Gidderbaha, Dera Baba Nanak, Chabbewal (SC) and Barnala assembly segments took place on November 20. The bypolls were necessitated after the incumbent legislators were elected to the Lok Sabha earlier this year.

Bengaluru | Early trends show the ruling Congress leading in Sandur segment, and BJP and JD(S) ahead in Shiggaon and Channapatna constituencies respectively, as the counting of votes is underway for bypolls held in three Assembly segments in Karnataka.

The by-election for three segments was held on November 13, and the trends show the three parties leading in the seats they had represented in the past.

The bypolls for Sandur, Shiggaon and Channapatna were necessitated as the seats fell vacant following the election of their respective representatives -- E Tukaram of Congress, former CM Basavaraj Bommai of BJP, and Union Minister H D Kumaraswamy of JD(S) to Lok Sabha in May elections.

The bypolls witnessed a straight fight between the ruling Congress and BJP in Sandur and Shiggaon segments, while in Channapatna, JD(S) which is part of the NDA took on the grand old party.

In Channapatna, which witnessed a "high profile" battle, among the three segments, JD(S)' actor-turned-politician Nikhil Kumaraswamy, who is the son of Kumaraswamy and former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda's grandson, is leading against Congress' C P Yogeeshwara.

A five-time MLA from the segment and a former minister, Yogeeshwara is also an actor-turned-politician. He had joined the Congress after quitting the BJP ahead of his nomination.

BJP and JD(S) leaders had together campaigned for Nikhil in Channapatna.

In Shiggaon, the BJP's Bharath Bommai, son of Basavaraj Bommai is leading against Congress' Yasir Ahmed Khan Pathan, who had faced defeat against the former chief minister in the 2023 Assembly polls.

In Sandur, Bellary MP Tukaram's wife E Annapurna of Congress is leading in the seat vacated by her husband, against BJP ST Morcha president Bangaru Hanumanthu.

With Nikhil Kumaraswamy and Bharath Bommai contesting, the third generation of Gowda and Bommai families were in the fray in this bypoll battle. Both their fathers and grandfathers have served as Karnataka's chief ministers in the past.

Kolkata | The TMC was ahead of its rivals in three of the six Assembly seats as counting of postal ballots for the West Bengal bypolls was underway, TV channels reported on Saturday.

The counting of votes began at 8 am.

The constituencies that went to the polls are Naihati, Haroa, Medinipur, Taldangra, Sitai (SC), and Madarihat (ST).

Bengali news channel ABP Ananda reported that TMC was leading in Naihati constituency in North 24 Parganas and Taldangra constituency in Bankura.

Another Bengali news channel News 18 Bangla reported that TMC was leading in Naihati and Haroa seats.

The Election Commission, however, is yet to come out with any trend as of now on its website.

Five of these seats are in the TMC's stronghold in south Bengal, while Madarihat, which was won by the BJP in 2021, remains a saffron bastion in the northern part of the state.

The by-elections were necessitated following the resignation of MLAs who had won seats in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, leaving their assembly constituencies vacant.

Lucknow | Counting of votes for by-elections on nine assembly seats of Uttar Pradesh began at 8 am on Saturday amid tight security, according to an official.

Voting for by-elections in the state's Meerapur (Muzaffarnagar), Kundarki (Moradabad), Ghaziabad, Khair (Aligarh), Karhal (Mainpuri), Sisamau (Kanpur Nagar), Phulpur (Prayagraj), Katehari (Ambedkarnagar) and Majhawan (Mirzapur) assembly constituencies was held on November 20.

According to official information, counting of votes began on all these nine seats at 8 am on Saturday amid tight security. A total of 90 candidates are in the fray in the nine assembly constituencies of the by-election, out of which 11 are women candidates.

Counting of votes will be completed in a minimum of 20 rounds in Sisamau and a maximum of 32 rounds in Kundarki, Karhal, Phulpur and Majhawan. A three-tier security arrangement has been made for the security of the counting venue.

While the results of the bypolls will not directly impact the composition of the 403-member state Assembly, the contest is being seen as a prestige fight between the BJP and opposition parties.

The bypolls were held on November 20 amid allegations from the SP that the local police prevented voters from reaching polling booths.

Acting on a complaint from the SP, the Election Commission took action against five policemen.

The results will determine the fate of the 90 candidates, including the highest number of 14 nominees from Ghaziabad and the lowest number of five candidates from Khair and Sisamau each.

In the 2022 Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls, the BJP won the Phulpur, Ghaziabad, Majhawan and Khair seats, while the SP secured victories in Sisamau, Katehari, Karhal and Kundarki. The Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD), which was an SP ally then, won the Meerapur seat. The party has since switched sides and is now a part of the BJP-led NDA.

While the Congress did not contest the bypolls, it extended support to the SP, its INDIA bloc ally. The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) contested all nine seats independently, while Asaduddin Owaisi's All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) fielded candidates in Ghaziabad, Kundarki and Meerapur.

The Aazad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram), led by Chandrashekhar Azad, also contested all seats except Sisamau.

In the current Assembly, the BJP has 251 MLAs, followed by the SP (105).

BJP allies, such as Apna Dal (Sonelal), RLD, Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP) and NISHAD Party, hold additional seats, while the Congress and the Jansatta Dal Loktantrik have two seats each and the BSP has one.