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New Delhi: By-polls in 5 constituencies in 4 states are being held today. The voter turnout will be keenly watched before the results are announced on June 23. The by-polls are for two assembly seats in Gujarat and one each in Kerala, West Bengal, and Punjab. 

As competition rises, this by-election will be all the more interesting considering it is a test of the NDA and the INDIA Blocs.

Nilambur - Kerala 

Assembly elections are due in 2026 in Kerala and West Bengal, which makes this by-poll a smaller version of the larger test ahead for the Congress party as they have announced it themselves.

Poling began at 7 am with strict security arrangements and the deployment of central security forces and police. The contenders who are face to face in this by-election are M Swaraj (LDF), Aryadan Shoukath (Congress-led UDF), PV Anvar (independent candidate), and Mohan George (BJP-led NDA).

This was necessitated after PV Anvar resigned as an MLA of the constituency following CPI(M) severing ties with the MLA over Anvar's corruption and anti-minority mindset allegations on the party's leadership, i.e., against the Chief Minister and his aides.

Kaliganj - West Bengal 

The constituency will be witnessing a contest between the BJP, Congress, and the TMC, while identity politics takes up the central position in the state's elections. This is a crucial time as the elections are happening post-Mushidabad's WAQF riots and a nationalist surge after Operation Sindoor.

The by-elections are a result of the sudden demise of a TMC MLA, Nasiruddin Ahamed. Similar to the Nilambur constituency, central forces have been deployed during the by-election.

Key candidates are, Ahamed’s daughter Alifa from TMC, Ashis Ghosh as a BJP nominee, and Kabil Uddin Shaikh as a Congress candidate with CPI(M) support.

Ludhiana West - Punjab

The polling will be held from 7 am to 6 pm on Thursday. The seat fell vacant after the death of AAP MLA Gurpreet Bassi Gogi. 

The elections will be a stand-off between the major political parties, AAP and Congress, as the latter tries to redefine urban politics in the state and win the seat. However, the BJP too is hopeful regarding the seat despite not winning in the earlier elections.

Access to the assembly through this seat seems difficult as the ruling party, AAP, looks at it as a way to reaffirm its dominance in the state.

APP has positioned Rajya Sabha member Sanjeev Arora as its nominee, while the BJP has fielded senior leader Jiwan Gupta. SAD has Parupkar Singh Ghuman as its candidate, while the Congress has bet on former minister and Punjab Congress working president Bharat Bhushan Ashu.

Visavadar - Gujarat

The voting will take place between 7 am to 8 pm and the results will be out by June 23. The seat fell vacant after then-AAP assembly member Bhupendra Bhayani resigned to join the ruling BJP.

BJP has nominated  Kirit Patel, while Congress fielded Nitin Ranpariya for the by-polls, and AAP has put faith in Gopal Italia. BJP has not won the constituency since 200,7 but the party is hopeful this time.

Kadi - Gujarat 

This seat is reserved for Scheduled Caste (SC) candidates and has been vacant since February 4 after the demise of BJP MLA Karsan Solanki.

Now, Rajendra Chavda ithe s BJP's nominee for the seat, while Congress has fielded former MLA, Ramesh Chavda, who won the seat in 2012 but lost it to BJP's Karsanbhai Solanki in 2017.