Polling for assembly by-elections began TBy-elections 2025: Momentum Builds, Nilambur Sets the Pacehursday morning in five constituencies: Nilambur (Kerala), Ludhiana West (Punjab), Kaliganj (West Bengal), and Visavadar and Kadi (Gujarat).

Voting commenced at 7 am and results will be announced on June 23.

In Nilambur, the Left Democratic Front (LDF) has fielded M Swaraj, the United Democratic Front (UDF) has nominated Aryadan Shoukath, and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has fielded Adv. Mohan George.

Calling the Nilambur by-election a “semi-final” ahead of the 2026 Assembly polls, Kerala Leader of Opposition and Congress MLA VD Satheesan said the UDF is confident of victory, which would mark the beginning of the alliance’s return to power in the state.

Speaking to ANI, Satheesan said, "This is a political contest, a direct fight between the UDF and the LDF. It is the semi-final leading up to the 2026 Assembly elections, and we are confident of winning by a significant margin. We see this as an opportunity to hold the Pinarayi government accountable, a government that has been in power for the past nine years."

In Ludhiana West, the BJP has fielded Jiwan Gupta, while the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has nominated Rajya Sabha MP Sanjeev Arora. The seat fell vacant following the death of AAP MLA Gurpreet Bassi Gogi.

In Kaliganj, West Bengal, the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) has nominated Alifa Ahmed, the BJP has fielded Ashish Ghosh, and the Congress has chosen Kabil Uddin Shaikh.

In Gujarat’s Visavadar constituency, the BJP has fielded Kirit Patel, the Congress has nominated Nitin Ranpariya, and AAP has placed its former state president Gopal Italia.

On the Kadi seat, the BJP has fielded Rajendra Chavda. Congress has nominated former MLA Ramesh Chavda, while AAP has chosen Jagdish Chavda.

Live Updates

Polling picked up momentum by 9.30 am in the assembly by-elections across five states, with Kerala’s Nilambur leading at 13.15 per cent voter turnout. In Punjab’s Ludhiana West, 8.50 per cent of voters had cast their ballots, while West Bengal’s Kaliganj registered 10.83 per cent. In Gujarat, Visavadar recorded 12.10 per cent turnout, and Kadi reported 9.05 er cent.

By 11 a.m., voter turnout surged in the assembly bypolls across five states. Kaliganj in West Bengal led with 30.64 percent, followed closely by Nilambur in Kerala at 30.15 percent. Gujarat's Visavadar and Kadi recorded 28.15 and 23.85 percent, respectively, while Punjab’s Ludhiana West stood at 21.51 percent.

As polling progressed, turnout rose sharply across all five states holding assembly bypolls. By 6 p.m., Nilambur in Kerala reported 73.26 percent, ahead of Kaliganj in West Bengal which reported 69.85 percent. Gujarat constituencies Visavadar and Kadi saw 55.72 percent and 57.80 percent, respectively, while Ludhiana West in Punjab reported 51.33 percent.