BJP landslide loading in Assam, Bengal bypolls; TVK on top in Tamil Nadu

Counting is under way in by-elections across Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Assam and Puducherry, with the BJP leading in Assam and West Bengal and TVK locked in a close fight with the AIADMK in Tamil Nadu.

In Short

• Vote counting is underway across Tamil Nadu, Bengal, Assam and Puducherry
• Outcomes in Tamil Nadu will test strength of Vijay's newly formed government
• Bengal's contest will gauge BJP's standing after ending Trinamool's 15-year rule

The BJP is on course for a landslide victory in the Assam and West Bengal bypolls as counting of votes entered the final rounds. Actor-turned-politician Vijay’s TVK is widening the lead over rivals DMK and AIADMK in Tamil Nadu. The ruling AINRC scored a quick and easy victory in Puducherry's Thattanchavady.

The results are being closely watched for the political mood in the four assembly constituencies and the Nagaon Lok Sabha seat. In Tamil Nadu, the outcome will test the strength of Vijay's newly formed government, while the West Bengal bypolls will gauge the BJP's popularity after ending the Trinamool Congress's 15-year reign in May.

BYPOLL RESULTS: TOP POINTS

1. Vijay's TVK is inching towards victory in Madurantakam and Dharapuram. Securing these two seats would help the ruling party move closer to the majority mark in the Tamil Nadu Assembly.
2. TVK candidate P Sathyabama is ahead in Dharapuram assembly constituency with 51,253 votes, followed by DMK's S Suganya in second place with 42,390 votes. In Madurantakam, TVK's K Maragatham Kumaravel is in the lead with 34,894 votes, with DMK candidate I Paranthamen trailing by 11,691 votes.
3. The results are also crucial for MK Stalin's DMK. The party is contesting the polls without the support of former allies, including the Congress, the VCK and Left parties, making the bypolls a litmus test of its strength outside the alliance.
4. In Bengal’s Rejinagar, BJP candidate Shankharav Sarkar is coasting ahead with 72,472, steadily widening the gap with his nearest rival from Humanyun Kabir's Aam Janata Unnayan Party. A saffron victory is loading in Nandigram, with BJP's Hasirani Rath leading by over 1,21,236 votes.
5. Both constituencies witnessed high turnout in the bypolls on Tuesday. However, opposition parties demanded fresh polling over allegations of voter intimidation and booth-level irregularities. The BJP rejected the charges and maintained that voting had been peaceful.
6. The bypolls in Nandigram and Rejinagar are the BJP's first electoral test after it stormed to power for the first time in West Bengal by trouncing Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress, which has since splintered into two factions. However, the contests are not a referendum on Suvendu Adhikari's four months in office.
7. Puducherry’s Thattanchavady witnessed a three-cornered contest. The ruling AINRC's Ashok Anand won by securing 13,358 votes after four rounds of counting. He defeated Congress candidate E Vinayagam by a margin of 8,482 votes, while the DMK finished third.
8. In the bye-election to the Nagaon Lok Sabha constituency in Assam, BJP candidate Devashish Sharma has taken an unassailable lead of 83,304 votes over AIUDF chief Badruddin Ajmal. Sharma, a former IAS officer, had secured 2,24,490 votes, against Ajmal's 1,41,186. Congress's Sibamoni Bora is trailing a distant third.
9. The Nagaon bypoll was necessitated by the resignation of two-term Congress MP Pradyut Bordoloi, who joined the BJP shortly before the Assembly elections in April. Bordoloi is now the MLA from Dispur.
10. Notably, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had refrained from predicting whether the BJP would win the seat, noting that Nagaon is a Muslim-majority constituency and not a traditional BJP stronghold. However, he said the party's victory could not be ruled out.

- Ends