Bypolls for eights seats in six states including Karnataka’s Bagalkot and Davangere South on April 9 and 23

New Delhi: Bypolls to eights seats in six states, including in Karnataka’s Bagalkot and Davangere South, will be held on April 9 and 23 with counting of votes slated on May 4.

The elections to Bagalkot and Davanegere along with Goa’s Ponda, Nagaland’s Koridang and Tripura’s Dharmanagar will be held on April 9 while the Umreth in Gujarat and Rahuri and Baramati in Maharashtra will be on April 23.

This was announced by Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar at a press conference during which he also announced the schedule for Assembly elections to Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and West Bengal.

The bypolls to Bagalkot was necessitated due to the death of HY Meti, a former minister, while the death of senior Lingayat leader Shamanur Shivasankarappa at 93 years, the oldest MLA in this Assembly, forced fresh elections in Davanagere South.

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has already announced that a family member of Meti will contest the Bagalkot from the Congress but the party is facing tough time to choose a candidate for Davanegere South as Shivasankarappa’s family is demanding a ticket for a family member while minorities, who are sizeable in the seat, wants a community member to fight.

The death of former Goa Chief Minister Ravi Naik, a BJP MLA who was earlier with Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party, necessitated the bypoll in Ponda while the passing away of BJP MLA Imkong L Imchen representing Nagaland’s Koridang and former Tripura Speaker Biswa Bandhu Sen, the BJP MLA of Tripura’s Dharmanagar, also necessitated fresh elections in their seats.

The two seats that will see bypoll in Maharashtra are Baramati, which was represented by former Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, and Rahuri where sitting BJP MLA Shivaji Bhanudas Kardile passed away.

Gujarat will see a bypoll in Umreth where sitting BJP MLA Govindbhai Raijibhai Parmar passed away.