Voting commenced early Tuesday (October 6, 2026) for byelections to five Assembly constituencies in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, and Puducherry, as well as to one Lok Sabha constituency in Assam.
AJUP candidate Golam Nabi Azad alleged that voters were being prevented from exercising their franchise in the by-election to West Bengal’s Rejinagar, where his father and party chief Humayun Kabir was arrested following a showdown with police during polling.
In Nandigram, Congress candidate Milan Pradhan alleged that polling agents were being prevented from entering booths and accused the police of failing to act on complaints of intimidation and irregularities. Meanwhile, West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari said the ongoing polling has been peaceful so far and expressed hope for a record turnout.
In Tamil Nadu, the Assembly constituencies going to polls are Madurantakam (SC) in Chengalpattu district and Dharapuram (SC) in Tiruppur. In a video clip that is doing rounds, P. Sathyabama, the byelection candidate of ruling Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) in Tamil Nadu’s Dharapuram Assembly constituency, is heard stating that she spent ₹31 crore for election. Officials said the video has been submitted to the ECI for further action.
Polling for the byelection to Assam’s Nagaon Lok Sabha constituency is witnessing a triangular contest among the BJP, Congress and the AIUDF.
The counting of votes is scheduled for Friday (October 9, 2026).
