The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has established a strong lead in West Bengal's Nandigram and Rejinagar constituencies, while actor-turned-politician Vijay's Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) is ahead in both Tamil Nadu seats as counting progresses in six by-elections across four states and Union Territories on Friday, October 9. In Puducherry, the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has won the Thattanchavady Assembly seat.
The bypolls cover five Assembly constituencies and one Lok Sabha seat in West Bengal, Assam, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. The results are being closely watched for indications of political support following the 2026 Assembly elections.
Nandigram: Hasirani Rath leads by over 90,000 votes
BJP candidate Hasirani Rath has taken a commanding lead in Nandigram, defeating Congress nominee Milan Pradhan in the counting trends. After 11 of 15 rounds, Rath had secured 1,21,236 votes, leading by 90,323 votes. CPI candidate Santi Gopal Giri was third with 4,775 votes.
The contest gained attention after the TMC withdrew its original candidate, Sanchita Pradhan Dey, at the last moment. Rath is the mother of Chandranath Rath, a former aide to Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari who was killed in May.
In Rejinagar, BJP candidate Shankharavh Sarkar was leading AJUP nominee Golam Nabi Azad (Robin) by 37,506 votes after seven rounds. Sarkar had polled 61,386 votes against Azad's 23,880. Congress candidate Abdullahil Kafi was third with 2,893 votes.
Assam: BJP ahead in Nagaon Lok Sabha bypoll
The BJP was also leading in Assam's Nagaon Lok Sabha constituency. Its candidate, Devasish Sharma, had secured 2,03,904 votes, ahead of AIUDF nominee Mohammed Badruddin Ajmal, who had received 1,22,043 votes. Congress candidate Sibamoni Bora was trailing with 34,216 votes.
The seat fell vacant after former Congress MP Pradyut Bordoloi joined the BJP and subsequently won the Dispur Assembly seat.
Tamil Nadu: Vijay's TVK leads in both seats
TVK candidates were ahead in Madurantakam and Dharapuram, both of which had been won by AIADMK candidates in the recent Assembly elections.
In Madurantakam, TVK had polled 38,128 votes, leading the DMK, which had secured 25,354. The AIADMK was third with 21,537 votes.
In Dharapuram, TVK candidate P Sathyabama was ahead by 9,226 votes after 15 rounds. She had received 45,336 votes, compared with 36,110 for DMK candidate S Suganya and 29,348 for AIADMK nominee K Banumathi. Sathyabama had won the seat on an AIADMK ticket before joining TVK.
Puducherry: NDA wins Thattanchavady
The NDA has secured a victory in Thattanchavady, where its constituent AINRC's Ashok Anand defeated his rivals by 8,482 votes. Anand received 13,358 votes, while Congress candidate E Vinayagam polled 4,876 and DMK nominee K Sethu Selvam secured 2,664.
The seat became vacant after Chief Minister N Rangasamy, who had won both Thattanchavady and Mangalam in the Assembly election, retained Mangalam.