By-elections to the 18th Lok Sabha are held to fill vacancies in Lok Sabha, the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of India between 24 June 2024 and the next Indian general election.
Condition of by-election[1]
As per the Representation of People Act, 1951,[2] a seat in the parliament may fall vacant in the cases of
- death
- resignation
- defection
- ineligibility to hold office
A by-election is called for a vacant seat shall be called only when the date of vacancy is at least 1 year apart from the date of dissolution of the house.
A by-election is, by law, held within 6 months from the date of vacancy unless the Election Commission of India finds it impossible to conduct elections, in which case a government approval is required. Elections are also delayed due to unresolved petitions left in the court on validity of last election held.
By-elections to the 18th Lok Sabha
| Constituency | State/UT | Date of vacancy | Cause of vacancy | Date of election | Before | After | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Member | Party | Member | Party | ||||||||
| 1 | Wayanad | Kerala | 18 June 2024 | Resignation | 13 November 2024 | Rahul Gandhi | Template:Full party name with color | Priyanka Gandhi[3] | Template:Full party name with color | ||
| 2 | Nanded | Maharashtra | 26 August 2024 | Death[4] | 20 November 2024 | Vasantrao Balwantrao Chavan | Ravindra Vasantrao Chavan[3] | ||||
| 3 | Basirhat | West Bengal | 25 September 2025 | Death[5] | TBD | Haji Nurul Islam | Template:Full party name with color | TBD | TBD | ||
| 4 | Shillong | Meghalaya | 19 February 2026 | Death[6] | Ricky AJ Syngkon | Template:Full party name with color | |||||
| 5 | Nagaon | Assam | 18 March 2026 | Resignation[7][8] | Pradyut Bordoloi | Template:Full party name with color | |||||
Cause of vacancies
Template:Infobox election As per section 33 (7) of the Representation of People Act, 1951, a member may contest from 2 constituencies but not represent both of them in the parliament. As Rahul Gandhi contested elections from Raebareli as well as Wayanad, he had to vacate one, which he decided to be Raebareli and hence resigned from Wayanad. Elections were expected to be held alongside other states in August but due to major landslides in the constituency, the elections got delayed till 13 November 2024. Template:Election box begin Template:Election box winning candidate with party link Template:Election box candidate with party link Template:Election box candidate with party link
Template:Election box candidate with party link Template:Election box majority Template:Election box turnout Template:Election box hold with party link Template:Election box end
As the then representative Vasantrao Balwantrao Chavan peacefully passed away[4] of old age, his constituency fell vacant. By-elections were held on 20 November 2024.[9] Template:Election box begin Template:Election box winning candidate with party link Template:Election box candidate with party link Template:Election box candidate with party link Template:Election box candidate with party link Template:Election box majority Template:Election box turnout Template:Election box hold with party link Template:Election box end
Haji Nurul Islam, the then representative of Basirhat Lok Sabha Constituency, failed to fight cancer which ultimately led to his death on 25 September 2024 at the age of 61.[5] Due to pending election petition not answered yet by Calcutta High Court, the elections are delayed until High Court either gives a verdict or allows election to take place before the verdict.
Ricky AJ Syngkon, the then representative of Shillong Lok Sabha Constituency, passed away on 19 February 2026 at 54 years of age due to suffering a cardiac arrest while playing football at the outskirts of his constituency.[6] By-election must take place no later than 18 August 2026.
Pradyut Bordoloi, the then representative of Nagaon Lok Sabha Constituency as a member of Indian National Congress, defected to Bharatiya Janata Party. To avoid his suspension through anti-defection law, he resigned from the Lok Sabha right before his meeting with Home Minister and senior BJP politician Amit Shah.[7][8]
References
- ↑ The Representation of the People Act, 1951{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}
- ↑ The Representation of the People Act, 1951{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Bypoll Election Result: Complete List Of Winners Across 48 Assembly Seats, 2 Lok Sabha Constituencies. ABP Live(2024-11-23). Retrieved 2025-11-23.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Nanded MP Vasant Chavan passes away at 64. The Economic Times(2024-08-26). Retrieved 2026-02-19.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 TMC Basirhat MP Sk Nurul Islam dies at 61. The Times of India(2024-09-25). Retrieved 2026-02-19.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Shillong MP Ricky Andrew J. Syngkon passes away. The Hindu(2026-02-19). Retrieved 2026-03-05.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Assam assembly elections: MP Pradyut Bordoloi quits Congress after 30 years, gets offer from Himanta Biswa Sarma to join BJP. Times of India. Retrieved 2026-03-18.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Pradyut Bordoloi resigns as Nagaon MP, meets Amit Shah; likely to contest assembly polls. ANI. Retrieved 2026-03-18.
- ↑ Election Commission of India. results.eci.gov.in. Retrieved 2026-02-19.