HT Morning Brief October 5: Bypolls underway in Tamil Nadu, West Bengal; Pakistan pulls out of WCL Season 3

By Election 2026: Polls commence in Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Assam and Puducherry. A total of five Assembly seats and one Lok Sabha seat are up for grabs. The voting commenced on Tuesday morning in Nandigram and Rejinagar of West Bengal, Madurantakam and Dharapuram of Tamil Nadu, and Thattanchavady in Puducherry. In Assam, Nagaon Lok Sabha constituency is also participating in the process.

In Tamil Nadu, the bypolls in Madurantakam and Dharapuram were triggered due to the resignation of former AIADMK MLAs K Maragatham Kumaravel and P Satyabama, who subsequently joined the ruling TVK. Both have been re-nominated from their respective constituencies. The DMK and AIADMK are also participating in both constituencies.

West Bengal's Nandigram is attracting more attention with the BJP's Hasirani Rath pitted against the Congress's Milan Pradhan, rival TMC faction candidate Mohammad Eteshamul Haque, and CPI's Santigopal Giri. Rath, the mother of Chandranath Rath, made headlines after her former aide was killed in May. Rejinagar is also witnessing a contest between Golam Nabi Azad of the Aam Janata Unnayan Party, BJP's Sakharav Sarkar, TMC's Rabiul Alam Chowdhury, rival TMC candidate Safiuzzaman Sheikh, Congress's Mohammad Abdullahil Kafi, and CPI(M)'s Syed Asad Ali.

Assam's Nagaon Lok Sabha bypoll is a crucial contest for the BJP, Congress, and AIUDF. The BJP is striving to bolster its support in the predominantly Muslim seat, while the Congress aims to retain its minority voters. AIUDF chief Badruddin Ajmal is endeavoring to restore the party's influence after it secured only two Assembly seats in April, a decline from its previous 16.

Fifteen candidates are contesting, with the primary battle anticipated to be between BJP's Devashish Sharma, former Congress MLA Sibamoni Bora, and AIUDF chief Badruddin Ajmal.

The polling in Bengal will go on till 6 pm, while voting in Assam will conclude at 5 pm. Both states will proceed with the counting of votes on October 9.