Crucial by-poll results in 13 assembly seats; early trends show setback for NDA

NEW DELHI: The counting of votes for the by-elections of 13 assembly seats in seven states is ongoing on Saturday. All eyes are fixated on the election news since it is the first such election after the LS polls, which is crucial for both the NDA and INDIA alliance.

Polling was held for 13 assembly seats in seven states including Bihar, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh.

The by-elections were held in Raiganj, Ranaghat Dakshin, Bagda and Maniktala assembly seats in West Bengal; Dehra, Hamirpur and Nalagarh in Himachal Pradesh; Badrinath and Manglaur in Uttarakhand; Jalandhar West in Punjab; Rupauli in Bihar; Vikravandi in Tamil Nadu and Amarwara in Madhya Pradesh. Four of these states are ruled by the Indian Alliance and the rest by the NDA.

In West Bengal, TMC is leading in all four seats while in the crucial battle of survival for Congress in Himachal, CM Sukhvinder Sukhu's wife Kamlesh Thakur is leading in Dehra. In Uttarakhand, congress is leading in both seats.