Assam and Puducherry bypolls: Early trends emerge as vote counting begins

Guwahati: Counting of votes for the by-election to the Nagaon Lok Sabha constituency in Assam commenced at 8:00 am on Friday under strict security oversight, according to election officials.

The counting procedure opened with postal ballots before transitioning to electronic voting machines (EVMs).

Tabulation is proceeding across two locations, Dawson Higher Secondary School and Government Boys' School in Nagaon, with 14 tables established at each facility.

Tight security measures have been deployed at both counting venues, and the district administration has instructed all candidates and political parties to obtain prior authorisation before conducting any victory marches or public rallies.

The primary contest features BJP candidate Devasish Sharma, a former IAS officer, Congress nominee and former MLA Sibamoni Bora, and AIUDF chief Badruddin Ajmal.

A total of 15 candidates contested the parliamentary bypoll.

Voter turnout during the October 6 polling reached 76.19 per cent.

The by-election was triggered following the resignation of Congress MP Pradyut Bordoloi, who subsequently won an assembly seat from Dispur on a BJP ticket earlier this year.

The final outcome will not alter the overall parliamentary majority.

The Nagaon constituency comprises 1.905 million eligible electors, including 943,000 women and 50 third-gender voters, who were registered to vote across 2,312 polling stations.

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Early trends show AINRC advantage in Puducherry

Initial trends emerging on Friday from the vote counting for the October 6 bypolls in Puducherry pointed to an early lead for the ruling administration headed by Chief Minister N. Rangasamy.

Likewise, early returns across the Union Territory of Puducherry appeared to favour Rangasamy's All India N.R. Congress (AINRC), which leads the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) coalition.

It remains to be seen whether these preliminary leads will hold as further rounds are tabulated.

The by-elections across Tamil Nadu and Puducherry carry significant political weight for the incumbent TVK and AINRC administrations as well as opposition groups.

The polls were necessitated by the resignations of sitting MLAs in their respective constituencies, including Rangasamy himself.

PTI