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As voting commenced for bypolls in 15 assembly seats spread across Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Kerala and Uttarakhand, BJP candidate for Palakkad Assembly byelection C Krishnakumar cast his vote at a polling booth in Palakkad on Wedneday. He expressed confidence of winning from the seat.
Krishnakumar said, "Definitely we will win this election from Palakkad. We are expecting more than 10,000 votes. We are projecting developmental issues. Voters are interested in discussing development issues. The other two fronts are discussing about the controversies. It is more than decades, people of Palakkad are expecting development. That is not fulfilled. We are discussing paddy procurement issues, drinking water facilities and infrastructure." United Democratic Front (UDF) has fielded Rahul Mamkootathil from this seat, Left Democratic Front (LDF) has fielded P Sarin. Voting began at 7 am on Wednesday for the single-phase Maharashtra assembly elections, second phase of Jharkhand assembly elections and bypolls in 15 assembly seats spread across Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Kerala and Uttarakhand. Earlier, mock polls were conducted in all constituencies to ensure a smooth election day. Security arrangements have been tightened across polling stations to ensure a peaceful and orderly voting process for citizens. Meanwhile, polling for the Assembly elections in Maharashtra and Jharkhand has also begun. In Maharashtra, voting is taking place across 288 Assembly seats, with several constituencies witnessing high-stakes battles. Key leaders in contention include Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, contesting from Kopri-Pachpakhadi against Shiv Sena (UBT) candidate Kedar Prakash Dighe, and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, defending his stronghold in Nagpur South West against Congress candidate Prafulla Gudadhe. NCP leader and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar is seeking to retain the family bastion of Baramati, facing Yungendra Pawar of NCP (SP). In Jharkhand, 528 candidates, including 55 women, one third-gender candidate, and 472 men, are contesting across 38 seats in this phase. Over 1.23 crore voters, including 61 lakh women, are eligible to cast their votes. Prominent candidates in Jharkhand include Chief Minister Hemant Soren, his wife Kalpana Soren, and his sister-in-law Sita Soren from the JMM. Key BJP candidates in this phase include former Chief Minister Babulal Marandi, Assembly Speaker Ravindra Nath Mahto (JMM), AJSU Party chief Sudesh Mahto, and Leader of Opposition Amar Kumar Bauri. The election primarily pits the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM)-led alliance against the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA). (ANI)
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