EC announces by-election to five Assembly seats in West Bengal

The Election Commission has announced by-elections to five Assembly seats in West Bengal on the 19th of next month. 

The seats are Islampur, Kandi, Nowda, Habibpur and Bhatpara. By-polls to the Darjeeling Assembly seat announced earlier will be held on the same day.

Islampur seat fell vacant following the resignation of Trinamool Congress MLA Kanaialal Agarwal after his party fielded him from Raiganj in the Lok Sabha elections.

By-polls to Nowda and Kandi have been announced as Congress' Abu Taher Khan and Apurba Sarkar joined



Trinamool Congress and stepped down as MLAs.

Habibpur and Bhatpara seats fell vacant after CPI-M's Khagen Murmu and TMC's Arjun Singh joined BJP and resigned as MLAs.

By-elections in Darjeeling have been necessitated as the seat fell vacant following the resignation of sitting TMC MLA Amar Singh Rai. He has been nominated by the party to contest from the Darjeeling Lok Sabha constituency.

Counting of votes will be taken up on 23rd of May along with the counting for Lok Sabha polls.