Counting of votes for bypolls held on October 6 in six seats across three states and one Union Territory is underway on Friday, with early trends showing the BJP ahead in West Bengal’s two assembly seats and Assam’s Nagaon Lok Sabha seat, while Tamil Nadu is shaping up for a nail-biting contest between the AIADMK and the TVK. These are early trends from the initial rounds of counting, and the picture is expected to firm up through the day.
NAGAON LOK SABHA (Assam): The BJP has taken a strong early lead in the high-profile Nagaon parliamentary seat. According to early trends, BJP candidate Devashish Sharma is ahead by 68,165 votes over AIUDF chief Badruddin Ajmal. If the lead holds, it would mark a significant statement in a constituency where Ajmal’s AIUDF has been a formidable force.
DHARAPURAM (Tamil Nadu): This is the tightest battle of the day so far. AIADMK candidate K Bhanumathi is narrowly ahead with 8,244 votes, with TVK’s P Sathyabama close behind on 7,434 votes. DMK’s S Sunganya is in third place with 6,158 votes, making this a genuine three-way contest in its early stages. Every round of counting is likely to be closely watched here.
MADURANTAKAM (Tamil Nadu): The TVK has seized the early advantage in Madurantakam, with its candidate Maragatham Kumaravel leading, according to early trends. AIADMK’s Kanitha Sampath is second, while DMK’s I Paranthaman is in third. Counting here was briefly interrupted by a technical glitch during the second round but has since resumed, officials said.
NANDIGRAM & REJINAGAR (West Bengal): In Bengal, the BJP has taken early leads in both seats. In Nandigram, BJP’s Hasirani Rath was ahead by around 9,600 votes after the first round, with Congress’ Milan Pradhan second. In Rejinagar, BJP’s Sakharav Sarkar polled 11,614 votes after round two, well clear of Congress’ Mohammad Abdullahil Kafi, who was second with roughly 581 votes. These contests are being viewed as the BJP’s first electoral test since coming to power in the state.
THATTANCHAVADY (Puducherry): Trends from the Thattanchavady assembly bypoll are awaited.
Counting began at 8 AM and is proceeding round by round at counting centres under tight security. Final results from all six seats are expected to be declared through the course of Friday. The FM News will continue to update this live story as official trends solidify and results come in.
This is a developing story. All figures are early trends and may change as counting progresses.
