New Delhi, December 20: By-Elections for vacant seats of state legislative assembly of Gujarat and Jharkhand are underway. In Gujarat, Jasdan assembly is undergoing by-elections as the sitting MLA of the Congress, Kunvarji Bavaliya, joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Meanwhile, In Kolebira constituency of Jharkhand, the seat was vacated after Jharkhand party MLA Enos Ekka was convicted for a murder. Jharkhand, Gujarat By-Elections 2018: Assembly Bypolls in Jharkhand's Kolebira and Gujarat's Jasdan Today – Key Facts to Know.

In Jasdan assembly seat there are total of eight candidates are in the fray, but the main competition is between the Congress and the BJP. Jasdan is always considered as a strong bastion for the opposition party. However, this time around there would be a tough fight as Bavaliya who is popular among the community is contesting on the BJP ticket. In this by-election, the Congress has given the ticket to Avshar Nakia.

About Kolebira assembly seat, five candidates are in the fray for the seat. Menon Akka of the Jharkhand Party, BJP's Basant Soreng, Congress' Naman Vikshal Kongadi, Anil Kandulna and Independent candidate Basant Dungdung are in the contest for the seat. The election was necessitated after Kolebira MLA Anos Akka was sentenced to life imprisonment for murdering Manoj Kumar, a teacher by profession. Gujarat CM Vijay Rupani Will Distribute 3 Lakh Tablet PCs to College Students For Just Rs 1,000.

The Election Commission on November 22 announced the schedule for by-polls to fill the two vacant assembly seats of Jasdan in Gujarat and Kolebira in Jharkhand on December 20. The date of issue of notification for the two by-polls was November 26, and the last date of nominations was December 3. Scrutiny of the nominations was done on December 4, and the last date of withdrawal of candidates' name was December 6.

The by-elections are taking place for the two assembly seats in Gujarat and Jharkhand just a few days after the results for assembly elections of five states - Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Telangana, Chhattisgarh and Mizoram. The Congress managed to come to the power in Rajasthan, MP and Chhattisgarh overthrowing the BJP government. Meanwhile, K Chandrashekhar Rao’s Telangana Rashtriya Samithi (TRS) retained power in Telangana. In Mizoram, Mizo National Front came to power after 10 years.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 20, 2018 09:43 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).