Assembly by-polls: Early trends show SAD leading in Tarn Taran; MNF leads in Dampa while BJP leads in Nagrota

Tarn Taran (Punjab) [India], November 14 (ANI): As the vote counting for 8 assembly constituencies commenced early morning on Friday, early leads have shown Shirmoani Akali Dal (SAD) candidate Sukhwinder Kaur leading in the Tarn Taran assembly constituency while Mizo National Front (MNF) candidate R Lalthangliana leads in Mizoram's Dampa. Meanwhile, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Devyani Rana is leading in Jammu and Kashmir's Nagrota.
Tran Taran is seeing a four-way contest in the constituency, with Kaur contesting against Congress' Karanbir Singh, BJP's Harjit Singh Sandhy and Aam Aadmi Party's Harmeet Singh Sandhu.
Bypolls for 8 assembly seats across 6 states and 1 union territory commenced at 8 AM today, along with the Bihar assembly elections.
In Mizoram's Dampa, MNF candidate is in the electoral fray against Zoram People's Movement Vanlalsailova, BJP's Lalhmingthanga, Congress' Jon Rotluangliana, and Mizoram People's Conference K Zahmingthanga.
Nagrota is seeing a head to head contest between BJP and National Conference (NC), with the latter fielding Shamim Begum.
In Punjab, the bypoll for the Tarn Taran assembly constituency took place on November 11. The seat fell vacant following the death of the sitting Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA, Kashmir Singh Sohal, in June 2025.
In Jammu and Kashmir, polling for the bye-elections was held in Budgam following the resignation of Omar Abdullah from the constituency. Chief Minister Abdullah chose to retain the Ganderbal constituency and vacate Budgam after winning both the seats in the 2024 assembly elections.
The main contenders in Budgam are Aga Syed Mehmood of the ruling National Conference and Aga Syed Muntazir Mehdi of the Peoples' Democratic Party, led by Mehbooba Mufti.
Additionally, Nagrota seat of Jammu and Kashmir fell vacant after the demise of BJP legislator Devender Singh Rana last year. Rana passed away within a fortnight of taking the oath. NC's Shamim Begum is in fray against the BJP's Devyani Rani in Nagrota. The Congress candidate has withdrawn their nomination in favour of Begum.
Vote counting took place in Anta constituency of Rajasthan's Baran district following the disqualification of BJP MLA Kanwar Lal Meena, who was convicted in a case dating back to 2005. He was accused of threatening a government official and was convicted in May this year.
In Jharkhand's Ghatshila constituency, the fight is between Babulal Soren, son of former BJP Chief Minister Champai Soren, and Mahagathbandhan candidate Somesh Chandra Soren.
In Odisha, the Nuapada Assembly seat fell vacant following the death of senior BJD MLA Rajendra Dholakia in September. Bharatiya Janata Party's Jay Dholakia will be eyeing to strengthen the party's position in the state's assembly as he faces BJD's Snehangini Chhuria and Congress's Ghasiram Majhi.
In Telangana's Jubilee Hills constituency seat, the fight is between Congress's Naveen Yadav, a leader from the Backwards Class (BC), and BRS's Sunitha, Gopinath's widow. The BJP has selected Lankala Deepak Reddy as its candidate. (ANI)