Counting of votes for the Nandigram and Rejinagar Assembly bypolls will begin at 8 a.m. today. Nearly 80% of the 5.24 lakh electors voted in these seats. Meanwhile, counting for the Madurantakam and Dharapuram by-elections in Tamil Nadu also starts at 8 a.m. amid tight three-tier security for all candidates.
Counting of votes for the Nandigram and Rejinagar Assembly bypolls will begin at 8 a.m., with the results likely to indicate the political mood in West Bengal after the BJP replaced the TMC after 15 years in power.
The two bypolls are not a referendum on the four-month-old BJP government, but the results will be closely watched to assess the party’s electoral strength after moving from the opposition to the government and how the opposition space is shaping up amid a fragmented political field.
Nearly 80% of the around 5.24 lakh electors in the two constituencies voted, with Nandigram recording 80.89% turnout and Rejinagar 80.08%, according to the Election Commission.
- PTI
The counting of votes for the Madurantakam and Dharapuram Assembly by-elections in Tamil Nadu will be taken up amidst a three-tier security cover.
The crucial by-polls held after the TVK came to power in May is viewed as a test for its popularity while the opposition AIADMK hopes to regain the seats lost to the TVK in the April Assembly elections.
The counting of votes will take place at the LRG Government Arts and Science College, Dharapuram, in Tiruppur district, and the Integrated Social Development Training Centre at Aathur (in Chengalpattu district) for Madurantakam.
Official sources said counting would begin at 8 am, with postal ballots taken up first, followed by votes recorded through Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs).