Kolkata/Ranchi/Agartala, Sep 7 (PTI) Counting of votes for the bypolls to four assembly seats in West Bengal, Jharkhand and Tripura will begin at 8am on Friday in the first electoral test for the INDIA bloc against the BJP.

Bypolls to two seats in Tripura (Boxanagar and Dhanpur), and one seat each in West Bengal (Dhupguri) and Jharkhand (Dumri) were held by and large peacefully on September 5.

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In Jharkhand, INDIA bloc and NDA candidates are keeping their fingers crossed ahead of the counting to Dumri assembly bypolls.

The counting centre has been set up at Krishi Bazar Samiti, Pachambha, in Giridih district, an election official said.

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"In all, 24 rounds of counting will be held and over 70 officials have been deployed for the exercise," Giridih deputy commissioner-cum-election officer Naman Priesh Lakra told PTI.

Around 65 per cent of 2.98 lakh voters had exercised their franchise to seal the fate of six candidates in the bypoll.

"Central Armed Police Force and various wings of Jharkhand police have been deployed to ensure free and fair counting," he said.

INDIA bloc candidate Bebi Devi is locked in a direct contest with NDA nominee Yashoda Devi.

JMM's Bebi Devi said, "I believe Dumri people have given their blessings to the party."

AJSU Party's Yashoda Devi said, "People participated in the bypoll in large numbers. I think they have voted for the AJSU Party for development of the constituency."

In Tripura, the ECI has taken necessary steps to conduct the counting in a transparent way, a senior poll official said on Thursday.

Counting of votes to both the seats - Boxanagar and Dhanpur — will take place at Sonamura Girls' HS School.

"There is tight security at the counting centre,” Sepahijala district magistrate Vishal Kumar told PTI.

BJP's Tafajjal Hussain, who unsuccessfully contested the last assembly election from Boxanagar, is contesting against CPI(M) nominee Mizan Hussain from there.

In the last assembly elections in February, the CPI(M) had retained the seat.

The Dhanpur assembly constituency, once considered a stronghold of the Left, witnessed a fight between the BJP's Bindu Debnath and Kaushik Debnath of the CPI(M).

The BJP won the seat for the first time in the assembly poll held seven months ago.

The by-election to the Boxanagar constituency was necessitated by the death of CPI(M) MLA Samsul Haque.

Union Minister Pratima Bhoumik's resignation as the MLA of Dhanpur necessitated the by-election to that seat.

On Wednesday, the CPI(M) announced to boycott the counting alleging largescale rigging in the two constituencies during voting.

In West Bengal's Dhupguri, personnel of the central armed police forces and state police are guarding the strong room on the second campus of North Bengal University in Jalpaiguri, an official said.

Around 76 per cent of 2.6 lakh eligible voters exercised their franchise in the by-election.

CPI(M)'s Ishwar Chandra Roy is contesting as the candidate of the Congress-Left alliance, while the ruling TMC has fielded Nirmal Chandra Roy, a teacher by profession.

The BJP has nominated Tapasi Roy, the widow of a CRPF jawan who died fighting terrorists in Kashmir a few years back.

The bypoll to the seat was necessitated due to the death of sitting BJP MLA Bishu Pada Ray earlier this year.

Dhupguri, a scheduled caste-reserved seat, has nearly 50 per cent Rajbanshi people and 15 per cent minority population.

The BJP had snatched the constituency from the TMC in the 2021 assembly polls.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)