New Delhi: Polling began at 7 am on Tuesday across six constituencies in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Assam and Puducherry, putting a string of new political equations to an early electoral test.

Voting is underway in five Assembly seats and one Lok Sabha constituency, with security tightened across the constituencies and counting scheduled for October 9.

The most significant development came from West Bengal, where Rejinagar Police detained Aam Janata Unnayan Party (AJUP) chief and MLA Humayun Kabir after he cast his vote.

Police took him away from his party office in Murshidabad. Reports so far have not established the specific reason for the detention.

The six seats going to the polls are Nandigram and Rejinagar in West Bengal, Madurantakam and Dharapuram in Tamil Nadu, Thattanchavady in Puducherry and the Nagaon Lok Sabha constituency in Assam.

Polling in the Assembly constituencies is scheduled to continue until 6 pm, while voting in Nagaon will end at 5 pm.

West Bengal: Kabir detained as Nandigram, Rejinagar vote

West Bengal has emerged as one of the main centres of attention, with voting underway in Nandigram and Rejinagar amid heightened security.

71 central force companies have been deployed across the two constituencies, and webcasting arrangements are in place at all polling booths. The bypolls are being watched closely as an early electoral test after the BJP formed the state government following the 2026 Assembly elections.Nandigram has particular political significance. Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari had won the constituency in the Assembly election but subsequently retained Bhabanipur, leaving Nandigram vacant and necessitating the bypoll. The BJP has fielded Hasirani Rath, mother of Chandranath Rath, a former aide of Adhikari who was killed shortly after the Assembly election victory.

Rejinagar, meanwhile, is witnessing a multi-cornered contest involving the BJP, the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC, a rival TMC faction, Congress and CPI(M), besides AJUP.

The seat fell vacant after Humayun Kabir, who had won both Rejinagar and Nowda in the Assembly election, retained Nowda. AJUP has fielded his son Golam Nabi Azad from Rejinagar.

Against this backdrop, Kabir's detention after voting has become the first major development from the constituency on polling day.

 

Tamil Nadu: Madurantakam, Dharapuram witness multi-cornered contests

In Tamil Nadu, voters are deciding the outcome in the reserved Assembly constituencies of Madurantakam and Dharapuram.

Polling began at 7 am and is scheduled to continue until 6 pm. The two contests are particularly significant for the ruling TVK government led by Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay, as the bypolls follow the resignations of former AIADMK MLAs K Maragatham Kumaravel and P Sathyabama, who subsequently joined the TVK.

Both are now contesting the respective bypolls on TVK tickets. The contests involve multiple political parties, including the TVK, DMK, AIADMK and Left parties. A total of 49 candidates are contesting the two Tamil Nadu seats, according to the latest polling updates.

Security and surveillance arrangements have been strengthened, with 18 polling stations across nine locations in Dharapuram identified as sensitive. Madurantakam has 2,13,788 registered voters, according to Election Commission data.

The bypolls are being closely watched for their implications for the state's recently established political alignment, particularly after the two former AIADMK legislators moved to the TVK.

Assam: Nagaon sees BJP-Congress-AIUDF triangular battle

In Assam, the focus is on the Nagaon Lok Sabha constituency, where voting is underway in a three-way contest between the BJP, Congress and All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF).

The principal candidates include BJP's Devashish Sharma, Congress' Sibamoni Bora and AIUDF chief Badruddin Ajmal. A total of 15 candidates are in the fray.

The bypoll was necessitated after former Congress MP Pradyut Bordoloi resigned from the Lok Sabha seat and subsequently contested the Assembly election from Dispur on a BJP ticket.

The constituency has 19,02,009 registered voters and 2,112 polling stations, with voting taking place from 7 am to 5 pm. Authorities in Nagaon and Morigaon districts have reviewed security and law-and-order arrangements ahead of polling.

The contest has drawn attention because Nagaon has traditionally been a key political battleground, with the BJP, Congress and AIUDF seeking to consolidate their support bases.

Puducherry: Thattanchavady votes amid three-way contest

Puducherry's Thattanchavady Assembly constituency is also voting on Tuesday, with 11 candidates in the fray.

The bypoll became necessary after Chief Minister N Rangasamy resigned from the constituency after winning two Assembly seats and chose to retain the other.

The contest is being viewed as an early electoral test for the four-month-old NDA government.

The main battle pits the ruling AINRC-led NDA against the Congress and the DMK. AINRC has fielded former MLA Ashok Anand, while Congress has nominated E Vinayagam and the DMK has fielded K Sethu alias Sethuselvam. CPI's A Mohamed Saleem is also contesting.

A total of 26,921 voters are eligible to cast their ballots across 31 polling booths. Voting began at 7 am amid tight security and will continue until 6 pm.

With polling now underway across all six constituencies, the bypolls bring together distinctly different political contests, from Bengal's closely watched post-election test and Tamil Nadu's evolving alliances to Assam's Lok Sabha battle and Puducherry's test for the ruling NDA.

The votes will be counted on October 9, when the results will provide the first electoral reading of these changing political equations.