Byelection 2026 Live Updates: Polling begins in Tamil Nadu, Bengal, Assam and Puducherry

Polling commences for byelection to Madurantakam Assembly constituency has begun in Tamil Nadu.(Source: ANI/ screengrab)

By Election 2026 Polling Live Updates: Polling began on Tuesday morning for by elections to five Assembly seats and one Lok Sabha seat across Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Assam and Puducherry. Voting is underway in Nandigram and Rejinagar in West Bengal, Madurantakam and Dharapuram in Tamil Nadu and Thattanchavady in Puducherry. Assam’s Nagaon Lok Sabha constituency is also voting amid tight security arrangements today.

Tamil Nadu: The bypolls in Madurantakam and Dharapuram were necessitated by the resignation of then AIADMK MLAs K Maragatham Kumaravel and P Satyabama, who later joined the ruling TVK. Both have been re-nominated from their respective seats. The DMK and AIADMK are also contesting both constituencies.

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In West Bengal: Nandigram is the more closely watched contest, with BJP candidate Hasirani Rath facing Congress nominee Milan Pradhan, rival TMC faction candidate Mohammad Eteshamul Haque and CPI’s Santigopal Giri. Rath is the mother of Chandranath Rath, a former aide of Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari who was killed in May. In Rejinagar, the candidates include Golam Nabi Azad of the Aam Janata Unnayan Party, BJP’s Sakharav Sarkar, TMC’s Rabiul Alam Chowdhury, rival TMC candidate Safiuzzaman Sheikh, Congress’ Mohammad Abdullahil Kafi and CPI(M)’s Syed Asad Ali.

In Assam: The Nagaon Lok Sabha bypoll is an important contest for the BJP, Congress and AIUDF. The BJP is trying to increase its support in the Muslim-majority seat, while the Congress is working to hold on to its minority voters. AIUDF chief Badruddin Ajmal is also trying to regain the party’s influence after it won only two Assembly seats in April, down from 16 earlier. Fifteen candidates are contesting, but the main fight is expected to be between BJP’s Devashish Sharma, former Congress MLA Sibamoni Bora and Ajmal

In Puducherry: Bypoll is being seen as a test of the four-month-old NDA government led by Chief Minister N Rangasamy. The election was necessitated by Rangasamy’s resignation from the seat. While 11 candidates are in the fray, the main contest is expected to be between the ruling AINRC-led NDA, the Congress and former ally DMK.

Polling in Bengal will continue till 6 pm, while voting in Assam will end at 5 pm. Counting of votes in both states will take place on October 9.