By-Poll Vote Counting For 1 Seat In Meghalaya And 5 In Assam Begins

The results are expected to be declared by the evening.

Counting of votes for crucial by-elections in five assembly seats across Assam and the Gambegre constituency in Meghalaya began on Saturday morning. Voting counting began at 8 a.m. this morning amid tight security arrangements.

In Gambegre, the by-election comes after former MLA Saleng A. Sangma got elected to the Lok Sabha.
Candidates vying for the seat include Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma’s wife, Mehtab Chandee Sangma of the National People’s Party (NPP); Jingjang M. Marak from Congress; Sadhiarani M. Sangma of the TMC; Bernard N. Marak of the BJP; and independents Sengkrabirth Marak and Jerry A. Sangma.

Voting for the bypoll took place on November 13 and saw 90.93% of voters exercise their franchise.

Polling was held across 51 polling stations in the West Garo Hills where as 31 have been classified as “critical,” with security measures intensified.

In Assam, the counting of votes for the bye-election to five assembly constituencies in Assam—Dholai , Sidli , Bongaigaon , Behali , and Samaguri began today at 8 AM across five designated polling centers.

Polling was held across 1,078 centers with over nine lakh registered voters and 34 candidates, with many first-timers. Security measures included 15 companies of CAPF and Assam Police, while 592 polling stations were webcasted. There were 11 model stations, and 14 run entirely by women staff.

The results are expected to be declared by the evening.

Polling for the bye-election to the five constituencies of Dholai, Sidli, Bongaigaon, Behali, and Samaguri was held on November 13, and the poll witnessed a final turnout of 75.67%.

Samaguri has emerged as a particularly intense battleground. Formerly held for five terms by Rakibul Hussain, who recently got elected to the Lok Sabha from Dhubri, now his son, Tanzil Hussain, is running for the seat against Diplu Ranjan Sarma from the BJP in a tight race.

Frequent skirmishes between BJP and Congress supporters in Samaguri have led both parties to file several complaints with the Election Commission, prompting robust security arrangements to manage the political tensions.

In Bongaigaon, the contest has drawn attention as AGP’s Diptimayee Choudhury, wife of eight-time MLA and current Barpeta MP Phani Bhusan Choudhury, faces off against Congress candidate Brajenjit Singha, a retired IPS officer.

Meanwhile, in Behali, BJP’s Diganta Ghatowal is up against Congress’s Jayanta Borah. The BJP-AGP-UPPL alliance has presented a united front, opposition efforts to field a common candidate have fallen short, especially in Behali, where internal conflicts threaten to weaken their chances.

In Dholai, BJP’s Nihar Ranjan Das is facing Congress’s Dhrubajyoti Purkayastha. In Sidli, it’s a direct contest between UPPL’s Nirmal Kumar Brahma and BPF’s Shuddho Kumar Basumatary, Congress’s Sanjib Warie is also in the fray.

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