Bypolls: Priyanka Gandhi takes lead over rival in... ... Priyanka wins Wayanad Lok Sabha seat by over 4.1 lakh votes

New Delhi: Congress-led UDF candidate Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was comfortably leading over her rivals in her maiden contest from Kerala's Wayanad Lok Sabha seat on Saturday while the BJP was ahead of the SP in five assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh where the bypoll results are being seen as a precursor to the 2027 assembly polls.

The Aam Aadmi Party and Congress were leading from two assembly seats each in Punjab while in Rajasthan, the Congress, BJP and Bharat Adivasi Party were leading in two seats each. In West Bengal, Trinamool Congress candidates have taken an unassailable lead in the bypolls held for six assembly constituencies while in Bihar, the ruling NDA was ahead in two seats. In Uttarakhand, BJP's Asha Nautiyal was leading in Kedarnath over Congress' Manoj Rawat. After two hours of counting in the Wayanad Lok Sabha bypoll, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra extended her lead by over one lakh votes. According to the EC update, Priyanka Gandhi received 1,65,487 votes with LDF's Sathyan Mokeri at second with 56,929 and BJP's Navya Haridas third with 31,018 votes. All eyes were on Uttar Pradesh where the BJP candidates were leading in Majhawan, Ghaziabad, Kundkarki, Khair and Pulpur, while the SP was ahead in Karhal and Sismhamau and the RLD in Meerapur.

As the counting of votes progresses in the bypolls to seven assembly seats of Rajasthan, the BJP, Congress and Bharat Adivasi Party (BAP) candidates were leading on two seats each while an Independent was leading in Jhunjhunu. In Punjab, the Aam Aadmi Party was leading from Chabbewal and Gidderbaha while the Congress was ahead in Dera Baba Nanak and Barnala segments. In the northeast, the ruling NDA alliance in Assam secured early leads in four of the five assembly constituencies while in Sikkim, the Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM) candidates Aditya Golay and Satish Chandra Rai were elected unopposed to Soreng-Chakung and Namchi-Singhithang assembly constituencies. Golay was the only candidate in the fray for the bypolls to Soreng-Chakung seat after SDF's Probin Hang Subba withdrew his nomination. Rai was elected unopposed from Namchi-Singhithang assembly constituency as he was the sole candidate in the fray, following the withdrawal of candidature by SDF nominee Daniel Rai. PTI KDK In Meghalaya, Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma's wife Mehtab Chandee Sangma has secured early leads in the bypoll to Gambegre constituency in West Garo Hills district. Karnataka trends showed the ruling Congress leading in Sandur segment, and BJP and JD(S) ahead in Shiggaon and Channapatna constituencies respectively.

In the two assembly seats of Kerala, ruling LDF candidate U R Pradeep was in the lead by over 5,000 votes after two hours of counting in the Chelakkara Assembly while the Congress-led UDF has taken the lead from the BJP-led NDA in Palakkad. In Gujarat, Congress candidate Gulabsinh Rajput was leading by a margin of 1,174 votes over his nearest rival and BJP candidate Swarupji Thakor in the by-election to the Vav assembly in Banaskantha district. BJP's Santukrao Marorao Hambarde was leading from the Nanded Lok Sabha seat in Maharashtra.

The Lok Sabha bypolls were held for two seats of Wayanad and Nanded while the assembly bypolls were held in nine seats in Uttar Pradesh, seven seats in Rajasthan, six seats in West Bengal, five seats in Assam, four seats each in Punjab and Bihar, three seats in Karnataka and Kerala, two seats in Madhya Pradesh and one seat each in Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Uttarakhand and Meghalaya. - PTI