Brisk voting in Assembly by-elections in four states

As the first electoral contest post Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor, voting for the by-elections to five Assembly seats across Punjab, West Bengal, Gujarat, and Kerala began amid tight security arrangements on Thursday.

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The polling started at 7 a.m. and will continue till 6 pm.

The seats where polling is underway are Kaliganj in West Bengal, Nilambur in Kerala, Ludhiana West in Punjab, and Kadi and Visavadar in Gujarat.

Polling commenced amid tight security arrangements, including the deployment of central security forces and police, along with live monitoring of the by-election process through an extensive webcasting system.

The counting of votes will be held on June 23.

The fact that Assembly elections are due in two of the states -- Kerala and West Bengal early next year -- makes this mini electoral contest all the more interesting.

The Ludhiana West Assembly seat fell vacant after the passing of AAP MLA Gurpreet Bassi Gogi in January. The by-election is expected to see a multi-cornered contest, with key political players —the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Congress, BJP, and Shiromani Akali Dal, competing fiercely for dominance in this urban constituency.