EC announces bypolls to four Lok Sabha, eight Assembly seats

New Delhi: The Election Commission on Monday announced schedule of bypolls to four Lok Sabha and eight Assembly seats to be held on November 19.

The notification will be issued on October 26 and bypolls will take place on November 19. Counting will be on November 22.

The Commission said bypolls to Lakhimpur (Assam), Shahdol (Madhya Pradesh) and Coochbehar and Tamluk (West Bengal) Lok Sabha constituencies along with bypolls to a total of 8 Assembly seats in Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Tripura and Puducherry will be held on the same day.

The Lakhimpur Lok Sabha seat fell vacant after Sarbananda Sonowal resigned as an MP in May and took over as Chief Minister following BJP's win in the Assembly polls.

On the other hand, by-election to the Baithalangso constituency has became necessary after Mansing Rongpi, who had won from the constituency as a Congress candidate in the last Assembly elections in Assam, resigned from his seat in July after he left Congress and joined BJP.

Bypoll to Shahdol was necessitated after the demise of BJP MP Dalpat Singh Paraste.

Renuka Sinha, a Member of Parliament of Trinamool Congress from Cooch Behar constituency since 2014, had died recently requiring the bypoll.

Bypoll to Tamluk Lok Sabha seat was caused after TMC MP Suvendu Adhikari won the West Bengal Assembly election from Nandigram seat and became a minister in the state.

EC has also announced elections to two Tamil Nadu assembly constituencies -- Aravakurichi and Thanjavur -- cancelled by it in May following evidence of money being used to influence voters. These elections will also be held on November 19.

Assembly bypolls will also be held in Hayuliang-ST (Arunachal Pradesh), Nepanagar-ST (Madhya Pradesh), Montestwar (West Bengal), Thiruparankundram (Tamil Nadu), Barjala and Khowai (both Tripura) and Nellithope (Puducherry).