BackWill bypolls outcome be a dipstick on Modi’s demonetisation move?
The results can be a test case to gauge public mood on PM Modi's decision to demonetise Rs500 and Rs1,000 banknotes taken earlier this month
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New Delhi: Will the results of a key set of assembly and parliamentary bypolls due on Tuesday be a dipstick on public sentiment on the recent demonetisation scheme of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA)?
Counting for four parliamentary seats and 10 assembly seats spread across six states and one Union Territory can be a test case to gauge public mood on the decision to demonetise ₹ 500 and ₹ 1,000 banknotes taken earlier this month.
The bypolls are the first electoral test for Prime Minister Narendra Modi after he took the decision to demonetise high-denomination notes. The impact of the electoral outcome could reflect in the proceedings of the ongoing winter session of Parliament which has witnessed heated exchanges between the government and the opposition led by the Congress.
On Tuesday, counting for four parliamentary seats—two in West Bengal (Cooch Behar and Tamluk) and one each in Assam (Lakhimpur) and Madhya Pradesh (Shahdol)—will take place.
While the Trinamool Congress (TMC) had won both the seats of West Bengal in the previous polls, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is incumbent in the rest. The BJP leadership is facing severe criticism from West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee over demonetisation and the elections are a challenge for both the parties.
Assembly seats for which counting will take place on Tuesday include three in Tamil Nadu, two in Tripura and one each in Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal and Puducherry. The Congress has a sitting MLA in four assembly constituencies, the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam in two and one each is held by the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, the TMC and Communist Party of India (Marxist) or CPM.
The demonetisation scheme, which was rolled out on 8 December, could be one of the factors that voters kept in mind while polling on Saturday, especially in constituencies of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.
The result is also a test for the BJP-led NDA, which is in power in Arunachal Pradesh and Assam. This is the first electoral test for the two governments in the state as well.
All the three parties—the Congress, the TMC and the CPM—which have emerged as the main opposition to the demonetisation issue have a key stake in the polls. Demonetisation is a rare issue on which Banerjee reached out to her arch-rival CPM. Opposition parties led by the Congress have disrupted Parliament since it began last Wednesday.
Counting for all the 14 seats began on Tuesday morning and final results are expected by late evening.
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