Neelam Meena becomes new CEO of West Bengal
The 1998-batch IAS officer of the West Bengal cadre is replacing Manoj Kumar Agarwal, who was earlier appointed as the state's new Chief Secretary.
As Bihar gears up for the decisive second phase of voting for Assembly elections on November 11, eight assembly constituencies across seven states and Union Territories will follow suit with by-elections on the same day.
The by-elections will take place in Jammu and Kashmir’s Budgam and Nagrota, Rajasthan’s Anta, Jharkhand’s Ghatshila, Telangana’s Jubilee Hills, Punjab’s Tarn Taran, Mizoram’s Dampa, and Odisha’s Nuapada constituencies.
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In Jammu and Kashmir’s Budgam, National Conference’s Agha Mehmood will be competing against PDP candidate Aga Syed Muntazir Mehdi in the bye-election.
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The bypoll was necessitated following Omar Abdullah’s resignation, as the Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister retained the Ganderbal constituency.
Meanwhile, the Nagrota seat fell vacant after the death of BJP leader and MLA Devender Singh Rana.
NC’s Shamim Begum will be contesting against BJP’s Devyani Rani in Nagrota. Notably, the Congress candidate has withdrawn their nomination in favour of Begum. A total of 13 candidates are in the fray for the bypolls.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which has one legislator, Mehraj Malik, in the Union Territory, has fielded Deeba Khan from Budgam and Joginder Singh from Nagrota.
In Rajasthan, a two-way contest is expected between Congress candidate Pramod Jain Bhaya and BJP’s Morpal Suman in the Anta assembly constituency in Baran district.
The bypoll was necessitated following the disqualification of BJP leader Kanwar Lal Meena after being convicted in a 2005 case for allegedly threatening a government official. He was convicted in May this year.
A high-stakes contest is on the cards in Jharkhand’s Ghatshila constituency, where a close fight is expected between Babulal Soren, son of former CM and Seraikela MLA Champai Soren (BJP), and Somesh Chandra Soren, the Mahagathbandhan nominee.
In Odisha’s Nuapada, BJP’s Jay Dholakia will face off against BJD’s Snehangini Chhuria and Congress’s Ghasiram Majhi.
In Telangana’s Jubilee Hills, campaigning saw intense exchanges between the BRS and Congress, with both parties levelling allegations against each other. The contest between Congress’s Naveen Yadav, a Backward Class (BC) leader, and BRS’s Sunitha, widow of Gopinath, is expected to be closely watched. The BJP has fielded Lankala Deepak Reddy as its candidate.
In Punjab’s Tarn Taran, the BJP’s star campaigners campaigned to counter AAP following the party’s recent defeat in Delhi. BJP has fielded Harjeet Singh Sandhu against AAP’s Harmeet Singh Sandhu and Congress’s Karanbir Singh Burj. The bypoll was necessitated following the death of sitting AAP MLA Kashmir Singh Sohal in June 2025.
In Mizoram’s Dampa constituency, the contest will feature Lalhmingthanga Sailo (BJP), John Rotluangliana (Congress), R. Lalthangliana (MNF), and Vanlalsailova (ZPM).
The results of all bypolls will be declared on November 14, alongside the results of the Bihar Assembly elections.
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