New Delhi: Counting of votes will be taken up
tomorrow for the bypolls to Firozabad Lok Sabha seat in Uttar
Pradesh and 31 assembly seats spread across seven states held
on Saturday.
In the Firozabad Lok Sabha seat, politician-turned-actor
Raj Babbar is the Congress candidate and is pitted against SP
supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav`s daughter-in-law Dimple. The
bypoll was necessitated as SP chief`s son Akhilesh vacated the
seat and retained Kannauj.
The polling, which saw a turnout of over 60 per cent, was
by and large peaceful.
In Uttar Pradesh, the byelections were held in 11 Assembly
constituencies -- Powagan (SC), Lucknow West, Padrouna, Rari,
Isauli, Jhansi, Kolasala, Hainsar Bazar, Lalitpur, Etawah and
Bharthana.
Bypolls were held in 10 assembly seats in West Bengal --
Kalchini (ST), Raiganj (SC), Sujapur, Goalpokhar, Bongaon,
Contai South, Egra, Serampore, Alipore and Belgachia East.
In Belgachia East, Ramala, widow of state`s former
transport minister Subhas Chakraborty, has banked heavily on
sympathy votes with actor Mithun Chakraborty and CPI-M
politburo member Biman Bose campaigning for her.
The West Bengal by-elections are being viewed as a dress
rehersal for the 2010 Assembly polls in the state and the
outcome will reflect whether the ruling Left Front, that
suffered a series of setbacks in some recent polls, is able to
reverse the trend.
It will also show whether the Left parties have been able
to put a check on the string of successes achieved by the
Trinamool Congress-Congress electoral alliance.
Three seats in Kerala (Kannur, Ernakulam and Alappuzha),
two each in Assam (Salmara South and Dhekiajuli), Himachal
Pradesh (Rohru and Jawali) and Rajasthan (Salumber-ST and
Todabhim-ST, and one seat in Chhattisgarh (Vaishali
Nagar) also had bypolls.
The bypolls in Kerala have gained importance as the
CPI(M)-led ruling LDF sees it as an opportunity to boost its
sagging morale after the Left Front`s dismal show in the May
Lok Sabha polls.
The outcome of the polls is being considered crucial
for measuring the popularity of the Ashok Gehlot government
and determining the stance of Gujjars after the Rajasthan High
Court`s recent stay on reservation granted to them.
Most of the seats fell vacant as sitting members become
MPs.
Bureau Report
