Bypoll for 13 assembly seats, BJP vs TMC in four Bengal seats today

BJP-led NDA and opposition's alliance INDIA will lock horns for the second time today as 13 assembly constituencies in seven states are going to bypolls today. All eyes will be focused on West Bengal's 4 seats among these seats.

Bypolling will be conducted in Raiganj, Ranaghat Dakshin, Bagda, and Maniktala seats. It's a matter of prestige for the saffron party here because Three out of the four constituencies were won by the BJP in 2021, however, they were left vacant due to defections in Trinamool. The fourth seat - Maniktala - was necessitated by the death of sitting TMC MLA Sadhan Pandey in February 2022.

In West Bengal's Raiganj and Ranaghat Dakshin, Krishna Kalyani and Mukut Mani Adhikhari, who were formerly in the BJP, are contesting on a TMC ticket against BJP's Manas Kumar Ghosh and Manoj Kumar Biswas respectively.

Meanwhile, the TMC has fielded Supti Pandey from Maniktala against BJP's All India Football Federation president Kalyan Chaubey, and TMC's Madhuparna Thakur is contesting from the Badgah seat against BJP's Binay Kumar Biswas.

Apart from 4 seats in Bengal, the other 9 seats are - Badrinath and Manglaur (Uttarakhand); Jalandhar West (Punjab); Dehra, Hamirpur and Nalagarh (Himachal Pradesh); Rupauli (Bihar); Vikravandi (Tamil Nadu) and Amarwara (Madhya Pradesh).