Voting Begins in Six By-Elections Across Four Regions

Voting began October 6 in six by-elections across Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Puducherry and Assam, covering five Assembly seats and one Lok Sabha constituency. Counting is scheduled for October 9, with no results yet reported. The contests are being held in Madurantakam and Dharapuram in Tamil Nadu, Nandigram and Rejinagar in West Bengal, Thattanchavady in Puducherry, and Assam’s Nagaon parliamentary constituency. The polling is an early electoral test for parties that competed in the states’ recent elections, though the reports do not establish how the results will affect their standing. In Tamil Nadu, former AIADMK legislators Maragatham Kumaravel and P. Sathyabama are contesting again in Madurantakam and Dharapuram, respectively, after resigning their seats and joining actor-turned-politician C. Joseph Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK). The by-elections are the party’s first significant electoral test since it entered government, according to the supplied reports. The accounts differ on how many parties or alliances are contesting in the two constituencies, but agree that DMK and AIADMK candidates are among the competitors.