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 Source:
As per the Representation of People Act, 1951, 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 +ConstituencyState/UTDate of vacancyCause of vacancyDate of electionBefore election After election MemberPartyMemberParty1WayanadKerala18 June 2024Resignation13 November 2024Rahul GandhiPriyanka Gandhi2NandedMaharashtra26 August 2024Death20 November 2024Vasantrao Balwantrao ChavanRavindra Vasantrao Chavan3NagaonAssam18 March 2026Resignation6 October 2026Pradyut BordoloiTBD4BasirhatWest Bengal25 September 2025DeathTBDHaji Nurul Islam5ShillongMeghalaya19 February 2026DeathRicky AJ Syngkon
Cause of vacancies
Wayanad, Kerala
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.
Nanded, Maharashtra
As the then representative Vasantrao Balwantrao Chavan peacefully died of old age, his constituency fell vacant. By-elections were held on 20 November 2024. INC managed to retain the seat by a very narrow margin of 1,457 votes (0.12%) over the BJP candidate. This was a significant drop from the general election in the seat held just 6 months ago.
Basirhat, West Bengal
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. 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.
Shillong, Meghalaya
Ricky AJ Syngkon, the then representative of Shillong Lok Sabha Constituency, died on 19 February 2026 at 54 years of age due to suffering a cardiac arrest while playing football at the outskirts of his constituency. By-election must take place no later than 18 August 2026.
Nagaon, Assam
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.
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