ECI By-Election Results 2025 LIVE Updates: ‘Not going to Rajya Sabha’: Kejriwal puts speculations to rest after party MP’s win

AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal on Monday hailed the party's performance in the Gujarat and Punjab bypolls, calling them a "semi-final to 2027" and a clear sign that voters would reject both the BJP and the Congress.

The bypoll results in the Visavadar seat in Gujarat saw AAP's Gopal Italia winning with 75,942 votes after 21 runds of counting. BJP's Kirit Patel got 58,388 votes. Meanwhile the BJP's Rajendra Chavda bagged the Kadi seat.

Kejriwal congratulated Gopal Italia in Visavadar and Sanjeev Arora in Ludhiana West, saying the twin victories signal that the fight in Gujarat is now directly between AAP and the BJP as the Congress "enjoys a cosy relationship with the ruling party".

AAP supremo and former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday said he would not go to the Rajya Sabha, after his party's sitting Upper House member Sanjeev Arora won the Ludhiana West bypolls in Punjab.

Arora will have to vacate his Rajya Sabha seat. At a press conference, Kejriwal was asked whom the party will nominate in Arora's place.

"Many times I have been sent to the Rajya Sabha. I want to tell you I am not going to the Rajya Sabha. The political affairs committee of the party will decide whom to nominate," he told reporters. (PTI)

With party candidate Alifa Ahmed winning by a significant margin of 49,755 votes, TMC has secured a decisive victory in the Kaliganj Assembly bypoll. However, it was seen that both the BJP and CPIM-Congress alliance’s vote shares had slightly increased since the Lok Sabha elections in 2024.

TMC received around 55 percent of the vote share, followed by the BJP with 28 percent and the Congress with 15 percent.

BJP focused its campaign on consolidating Hindu votes in an area where over 48 percent of the electorate belongs to minority communities.

BJP leader and LoP Suvendu Adhikari commented, “I don’t have the final result yet, but from what I’ve seen, CPIM-Congress got some support in minority areas. Our goal was to consolidate the Hindu vote, and I believe we were successful in that strategy.”

Alifa Ahmed, 38, daughter of the late TMC MLA Nasiruddin Ahmed,

The seat fell vacant after Alifa Ahmed's (38) father, Nasiruddin Ahmed, died in February this year.

TMC's Alifa Ahmed wins Kaliganj assembly bypolls by 49,755 vote margin over BJP rival Ashish Ghosh.

A nine-year-old girl was killed in a bomb explosion in Kaliganj in West Bengal's Nadia district on Monday. The counting of votes in the constituency for the assembly bypolls is currently underway.

According to a police officer the girl was wounded after being allegedly hit by a bomb that exploded in the afternoon at Barochandgar under Kaliganj police station limits.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said police will take strict legal action against the culprits.

"I am shocked and deeply saddened at the death of a young girl in an explosion at Barochandgar. My prayers and thoughts are with the family in their hour of grief," Banerjee posted on X.

"Police shall take strong and decisive legal action against the culprits at the earliest," she added.

"The girl's body has been sent for post-mortem. We are probing into the cause of the explosion," the police officer said. (PTI)

AAP's Sanjeev Arora, a sitting Rajya Sabha MP, won the Ludhiana West Legislative Assembly by 10,676 votes after the 14th and final round of counting. A possible reasons behind his victory was his strong public presence in the constituency and him raising local issues in Parliament. He funded various local development projects through his MPLADS funds as well. Additionally, Arora's candidature was declared in February, giving him a significant headstart.

The party's entire leadership was involved in the campaign, with all 93 MLAs, CM Mann, and senior leaders like Manish Sisodia and former Delhi Chief Minister Atishi rallying behind him.

AAP won 10 out of 17 wards in Ludhiana West in the December 2024 Ludhiana Municipal Corporation elections. In the 2022 state elections that first brought the party to power in the state, it won all six Ludhiana city constituencies. Arora also promised to carry forward Gogi’s legacy, who was popular and well-regarded in the constituency.

AAP leader Sanjeev Arora won the Punjab's Ludhiana assembly seat with a margin of 10,637 votes against Congress' Bharat Bhushan Ashu.

The Trinamool Congress was leading by over 40,438 votes in the by-election to the Kaliganj assembly seat in West Bengal's Nadia district after 13 rounds of counting on Monday.

TMC candidate Alifa Ahamed secured 71,639 while her nearest rival, BJP nominee Ashis Ghosh 31,201. Congress candidate Kabil Uddin Shaikh, backed by the CPI(M), slipped to the third position with 22,275, election officials said.

Counting began at 8 am with the postal ballots. The process has been peaceful so far, they added.

In the keenly contested by-election held in Kerala’s Nilambur assembly seat today, the Congress has wrested the seat from the LDF, with its candidate Aryadan Shoukath defeating his nearest rival, CPI(M)’s M Swaraj, by around 10,000 votes. 

The by-election was necessitated by the resignation of two-term CPI(M)-backed Independent legislator P V Anvar, who also contested as an Independent this time.

The constituency, which falls within the Wayanad Lok Sabha seat represented by Congress’s Priyanka Gandhi, registered 75.87 per cent polling.

Shoukath is the son of late Congress veteran Aryadan Muhammed, who had represented the seat from 1987 to 2016.

What does the win mean for Congress?

Congress had approached the by-election as a mandate against the nine-year regime of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. This is the first by-election held since 2021 in which Congress has managed to wrest back a seat from the LDF; in previous by-elections, Congress could only retain its sitting seats.

The party’s victory would boost its confidence to fight local body elections later this year and the assembly elections in April-May next year. To secure a win, the Congress had to fight not only its nearest rival, the CPI(M), but also Anvar.

Within the Congress, the verdict will cement the clout of Opposition leader V D Satheesan, who led the campaign machinery. The win is also a consolation for the new state leadership under KPCC president Sunny Joseph, who replaced K Sudhakaran last month.

Satheesan had opposed Anvar’s demand that he be allowed to associate with the UDF in Nilambur, and a defeat would have weakened Satheesan’s supremacy in the UDF and the Congress. 

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AAP candidate Gopal Italia is leading again in Gujarat's Visavadar assembly seat with a margin of 4,181 votes, after the 10th round of counting, against the BJP’s candidate Kirit Patel.

The National Trinamool Congress (TMC) took an early lead over its rivals as counting for the by-election to Kaliganj assembly seat in West Bengal's Nadia district was underway on Monday.

After the third round of counting, TMC candidate Alifa Ahamed is leading with 13,761 votes, while her nearest rival, BJP nominee Ashis Ghosh, secured 6,297 votes. Meanwhile, Congress candidate Kabil Uddin Shaikh, backed by the CPI(M) is trailing in third position with 5,301 votes.

AAP's candidate Sanjeev Arora is leading with a margin of 3,060 votes after the third round of counting, against the BJP's candidate Jiwan Gupta.

Votes:

AAP - Sanjeev Arora - 8,277

BJP- Jiwan Gupta - 5,217

Cong - Bharat Bhushan Ashu - 5,094

SAD - Parupkar Ghuman - 2,575

After the fourth round of voting in Gujarat's Visavadar assembly seat, the BJP's candidate Kiran Patel is leading with 16,888 votes, while AAP’s Gopal Italia is trailing with a margin of 12,796 votes, Monday, according to initial trends.

BJP is also leading in the Kadi assembly seat.

As the vote counting began at Gujarat's Kadi and Visavadar assembly seats --- BJP candidate Rajendra Chavda is seen leading with 12,701 votes in Kadi, while AAP’s Gopal Italia is currently leading the Visavadar assembly seat with 7,179 votes.

All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) candidate is leading with 4545 votes, while Congress' Kabil Uddin Shaikh trails with 1830 votes, followed by BJP with 1112 votes.

Counting for Bengal's Kaliganj Assembly Constituency by-election started at Panighata UDM High School. The entire counting centre, including the counting halls, has also been covered by CCTV.

The bypoll in Kaliganj was held on June 19 and a 60.32 per cent voter turnout was recorded.

The by-election was necessitated by the sudden demise of Trinamool Congress MLA Nasiruddin Ahamed in February. His daughter, Alifa Ahamed, is contesting the seat as the TMC nominee.

AAP leader and Rajya Sabha member Sanjeev Arora is currently leading in the Ludhiana bypoll election with 2895 votes, while the Congress leader Bharat Bhushan Ashu is trailing with 1626 votes, followed by the BJP with 1117 votes -- after first round of counting.

After the first round of counting, Congress candidate Aryadan Shoukath is leading with 7683 votes, CPI(M) which fielded its young party state secretariat member M Swaraj, is trailing with 6444 votes, and BJP candidate Mohan George is trailing with 1117 votes.

Counting of votes for the bypoll at Kerala’s Nilambur assembly seat in Malappuram district began at 8 am Monday. The constituency went to booths on June 19 after sitting legislator CPI(M)-backed two-time independent legislator P V Anvar quit last year.

The constituency, which falls within the Wayanad Lok Sabha seat represented by Congress’ Priyanka Gandhi, had registered 75.87 per cent of polling. In the first stage of counting, 1403 postal votes will be opened,  before unlocking electronic voting machines, which had recorded 1,74,667 votes. Votes in electronic machines will be counted in 19 rounds.

Early trends show that Congress candidate Aryadan Shoukath is leading when the first round of counting is in progress.

CPI(M) has fielded its young party state secretariat member M Swaraj, while Congress has Aryadan Shoukkath, son of late party veteran Aryadan Muhammed, who had uninterruptedly represented the seat from 1987 to 2016. Anvar, who had quit raising a revolt against Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, is contesting as an independent. BJP has fielded local Christian Mohan George, who had been with the regional Christian party Kerala Congress before embracing BJP after the by-election schedule was declared.   

The bypoll outcome is crucial for the ruling CPI(M)-led LDF regime as well as Congress-led Opposition UDF as assembly elections are slated for April-May 2026. A victory in the by-election will serve a major boost for the Pinarayi Vijayan regime, which is gearingup for a third consecutive regime.

Anvar has declared that he is in the election fray to defeat ``Pinarayism,’’ (style of functioning). Congress, which has been in opposition for the last nine years, has stated that it is fighting to prove the anti-incumbency factor against the Vijayan regime.

The counting of votes for the Ludhiana West assembly bypoll in Punjab began at 8 am Monday. The ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has announced that it is confident of a victory in the Ludhiana riding on its “development and pro-people policies” implemented in the past three years of its reign.

The Opposition parties - the BJP, the Congress and the SAD, on the other hand, see a “wind of badlaav (change)” that will sweep Ludhiana West and “AAP will be thrown out by the people” ahead of 2027 Punjab assembly polls.

The AAP drew criticism after fielding its Rajya Sabha member, industrialist Sanjeev Arora in the bypoll. Opposition parties alleged that the ruling party was doing it to send party national convener Arvind Kejriwal to the Rajya Sabha at his place — if Arora wins. Hence, they alleged that Arora's candidature in the bypoll was “just to ensure Kejriwal's entry to the Upper House of Parliament” after his government lost the Delhi Assembly elections — and Kejriwal lost his seat.

All eyes are on how BJP factor will play out in this urban constituency dominated by Hindu community voters. In 2024 Lok Sabha polls, BJP had polled the highest 45k votes from the West. However BJP has never won an assembly election here.

Divya Goyal reports from Ludhiana

The bypoll of Kadi assembly constituency was necessitated after it fell vacant following the death of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Karshan Solanki in February this year. The seat is reserved for the Scheduled Caste communities and a total of eight candidates were in the fray in the electoral battle.

At the Visavadar constituency, the by-election was necessitated after the sitting MLA from AAP, Bhupendra Bhayani, resigned from the seat in December 2023 and later joined the BJP. All eyes were on the BJP to see if it would field Bhayani on the seat or not. Eventually, the party nominated its former Junagadh district president and local cooperative leader, Kirit Patel, for the seat.

The BJP is facing a challenge from AAP’s senior leader Gopal Italia and Congress’s Nitin Ranpariya on the seat.

The AAP has apparently thrown its weight behind the candidate in the Visavadar constituency with its top national leadership, including former Chief Ministers Arvind Kejriwal and Atishi, and current Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann, joining Italia as he filed his nomination papers.

In the past, Visavadar was represented by former CM Keshubhai Patel.

The counting of votes for the Ludhiana West assembly bypoll will be taken up today after a fierce electoral fight that Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann described as a battle between "humility" and "arrogance".

The June 19 bypoll has been regarded as a litmus test for the ruling AAP as it seeks to maintain its hold over Punjab, while the Congress looks to regain its foothold over the urban constituency which it held six times in the past.

The Aam Aadmi Party fielded Sanjeev Arora (61), a Rajya Sabha member and Ludhiana-based industrialist who is also known for his social welfare work, for the bypoll. On the other hand, the opposition Congress placed its bet on former minister and Punjab Congress working president Bharat Bhushan Ashu (51).

The BJP field senior leader Jiwan Gupta, a member of the core committee of the party's Punjab unit, while the SAD named Parupkar Singh Ghuman, a lawyer and the former president of Ludhiana Bar Association, as its candidate.

While the main contest is between the AAP and Congress, the bypoll outcome will also shed light on how the BJP performs among urban voters in Punjab. It is also going to be a test of the leadership of SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal as his party looks to resurrect itself after a series of crushing electoral losses.

The Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the CPI(M) are looking at the bypolls in West Bengal and Kerala, where they are in power respectively, as precursors to the Assembly polls slated next year in their states. A bypoll win would give them a boost in the 2026 final, with the campaigns reflecting their stakes.

The bypoll results are set to be announced today.

Nilambur (Kerala)

The bypoll here was necessitated by the resignation of the CPI(M)-backed Independent legislator P V Anvar. A win will be a shot in the arm for the CPI(M) ahead of the Assembly elections, which it would face while being the incumbent for an unprecedented two terms.

The Congress, which lost the Nilambur seat in the 2021 polls with a margin of 2,700 votes, has mounted a stiff challenge the CPI(M) and Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. CM Vijayan has handpicked M Swaraj as the CPI(M)'s candidate from the seat, who has had a sharp rise in the party.

The Congress has nominated its old-timer Aryadan Shoukath from the seat, who had also contested in 2016. Shoukath brings with him legacy too, with his late father Aryadan Mohammad winning the seat eight times before.

Kaliganj (West Bengal)

In the 2021 Bengal Assembly polls, TMC leader Nasiruddin Ahmed, known as Lal in the party circles, won from the Kaliganj constituency by 46,987 votes against the BJP’s Abhijit Ghosh. It was Ahmed’s second win from the seat.

Ahmed died in February this year after a cardiac arrest. His daughter Alifa Ahmed is now contesting the bypoll on the TMC's ticket, who is taking on the BJP’s Ashish Ghosh and the Congress’s Kabil Uddin.

The TMC has a base in the seat owing to Ahmed’s groundwork over the years and his popularity among its large Muslim population.

However, the campaigns of the contenders for the bypoll in the constituency has been charged.

The BJP targeted the TMC over the recent Murshidabad riots in which three persons were killed and several people were left homeless. The TMC, in turn, accused the BJP of “communal polarisation”.

Clearly, the BJP wants to break the TMC's hold on this minority-dominated seat in Nadia district. Their face-off would also play out in the run-up to the 2026 Assembly polls.

The Election Commission (EC) has undertaken a host of measures to ensure a smooth and peaceful counting for the bypoll to the Kaliganj Assembly seat in West Bengal’s Nadia district. The counting is slated to commence at 8 am on Monday.

According to EC sources, a three-tier security system will be in place at the counting centres: armed police personnel will guard the outermost layer, the second tier will comprise the state police and central forces, and the innermost, third tier will be exclusively manned by central forces.

The Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) were securely transported to the strong rooms on Thursday, and they are being monitored 24×7 through CCTV cameras. Political parties have been permitted to set up camps within 100 metres of the strong rooms, provided they obtain prior permission from the district magistrate.

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