New Delhi, 05 October (H.S.): Polling for by-elections to five Assembly seats across three states and one Union Territory, along with one Lok Sabha seat, will be held on Tuesday, October 6. Voting will take place from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. in Nandigram and Rejinagar in West Bengal, Madurantakam and Dharapuram in Tamil Nadu, Thattanchavady in Puducherry, and the Nagaon Lok Sabha constituency in Assam. Counting of votes will be taken up on October 9.

Candidates from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Congress, Trinamool Congress (TMC), Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), Left parties, All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF), All India N.R. Congress (AINRC) and several other parties are in the fray across the six seats. Most of these seats fell vacant after representatives elected from two constituencies in the 2026 Assembly elections relinquished one of their seats or resigned as legislators.

Nagaon Lok Sabha: 1.90 million voters, 2,307 polling stations

The Nagaon Lok Sabha constituency in Assam is witnessing what is being seen as a three-way contest among BJP candidate Debashish Sharma, Congress candidate Sibamoni Bora and AIUDF chief Badruddin Ajmal. Debashish Sharma is a former IAS officer, while Sibamoni Bora is the Congress candidate. Ajmal is contesting on the AIUDF ticket.

The Nagaon Lok Sabha constituency has a total of 1,901,899 voters, including 958,549 men, 943,300 women and 50 third-gender voters. A total of 2,307 polling stations have been set up across the constituency’s eight Assembly segments. Around 11,535 personnel have been deployed to ensure free and peaceful polling. Elaborate security arrangements have been made at polling stations and in vulnerable areas.

The Nagaon seat fell vacant following the resignation of Congress MP Pradyut Bordoloi. Bordoloi subsequently joined the BJP and was elected from the Dispur Assembly constituency in the 2026 Assembly elections.

Nandigram: 266,415 voters, 282 polling stations

Nandigram Assembly constituency in West Bengal’s Purba Medinipur district is among the most closely watched seats in the by-elections. The BJP has fielded Hasirani Rath, the Congress has nominated Milan Pradhan, while the CPI is contesting on behalf of the Left Front with Shantigopal Giri as its candidate. With several parties and groups actively campaigning in the constituency, the contest is multi-cornered.

According to the 2026 electoral roll, Nandigram had 266,415 registered voters, including 138,934 men, 127,480 women and one third-gender voter. A total of 282 polling stations have been established. One hundred per cent webcasting arrangements have been made at all polling stations. Thirty-seven companies of the Central Armed Police Forces have been deployed for security.

The seat fell vacant after Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari resigned from Nandigram. In the 2026 Assembly elections, he had won from both Nandigram and Bhabanipur. He subsequently retained Bhabanipur and resigned from Nandigram.

The arrest of Congress candidate Milan Pradhan and his subsequent grant of interim bail also remained a talking point during the election campaign.

Rejinagar: 239,295 voters, 315 polling stations

In West Bengal’s Murshidabad district, the BJP has fielded Shankarao Sarkar from the Rejinagar Assembly constituency, while the Trinamool Congress has nominated Rabiul Alam Chowdhury. The Ajoynagar Janata United Party (AJP) has fielded Golam Nabi Azad, son of former legislator Humayun Kabir. Candidates of the Left Front and other parties are also in the fray.

According to Election Commission figures for 2026, the Rejinagar Assembly constituency has 239,295 voters. In the 2026 Assembly elections, Humayun Kabir won the seat on the AJP ticket with 123,536 votes. BJP candidate Bapan Ghosh secured 64,660 votes, while TMC candidate Ataur Rahman polled 41,718 votes. The Congress received 4,101 votes.

A total of 315 polling stations have been established in Rejinagar, with 100 per cent webcasting arrangements at all stations. Thirty-four companies of Central forces have been deployed for security. Nandigram and Rejinagar together will have webcasting at all 597 polling stations, while a total of 71 companies of Central forces will be deployed across the two constituencies.

The Rejinagar seat fell vacant following the resignation of Humayun Kabir. In the 2026 Assembly elections, Kabir had won both Rejinagar and Nawda. He subsequently retained Nawda and resigned from Rejinagar.

Madurantakam: 213,788 voters, 285 polling stations

In Tamil Nadu, 213,788 voters will exercise their franchise in the Scheduled Caste-reserved Madurantakam Assembly constituency in Chengalpattu district. A total of 285 polling stations have been established for the election.

As many as 2,614 police personnel have been deployed for security, including 480 personnel from the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF). Twenty-three polling stations have been classified as sensitive.

A total of 27 candidates are in the fray. Prominent candidates include TVK’s K. Maragatham Kumaravel, DMK’s I. Paranthamen, AIADMK’s Kanitha Sampath and CPI(M)’s P. Sugandhi. The Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) will have 28 options, including NOTA, along with the names of the 27 candidates.

The Madurantakam seat fell vacant after the resignation of AIADMK legislator Maragatham Kumaravel. After resigning as MLA, she joined the TVK and is now contesting the by-election on the party’s ticket.

Dharapuram: 223,247 voters, 320 polling stations

A total of 223,247 voters will cast their ballots in Dharapuram, a Scheduled Caste-reserved Assembly constituency in Tamil Nadu’s Tiruppur district. There are 320 polling stations in the constituency.

Around 3,500 police personnel have been deployed to ensure peaceful polling, while 18 polling stations have been identified as sensitive.

The TVK has fielded former AIADMK MLA P. Sathyabama. The DMK has nominated S. Suganya, the AIADMK has fielded K. Bhanumathi, and the Communist Party of India has nominated P. Lakshmanan.

The Dharapuram seat also fell vacant following the resignation of an AIADMK legislator. P. Sathyabama resigned as MLA, subsequently joined the TVK and is now contesting the by-election as the party’s candidate.

Thattanchavady: 26,921 voters, 11 candidates

Eleven candidates are in the fray for the Thattanchavady Assembly constituency in the Union Territory of Puducherry. Prominent candidates include AINRC’s Ashok Anand, Congress’ E. Vinayagam, DMK’s K. Sethu Selvam and CPI’s A. Mohammed Salim.

The Congress candidate has received the support of the TVK, while the AINRC candidate has the backing of the BJP and AIADMK.

Thattanchavady has a total of 26,921 voters. It is an urban Assembly constituency in Puducherry and encompasses parts of the Oulgaret municipal area.

The seat fell vacant following the resignation of Chief Minister N. Rangasamy. In the 2026 Assembly elections, Rangasamy won from both Thattanchavady and Mangalam. He subsequently retained Mangalam and resigned from Thattanchavady.

The by-elections to these six seats are significant not only in terms of the local political equations in the respective states and Union Territory but also for the major political parties. Polling will be held on October 6, followed by counting on October 9. The results will determine the new political representatives chosen by voters in these six constituencies.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar