By-elections will be held for six assembly seats in five states, including the Mainpuri Lok Sabha seat in Uttar Pradesh (UP), a Samajwadi Party (SP) stronghold. Following the passing of Mulayam Singh Yadav, the patriarch of the Samajwadi Party, a by-election was required for the Mainpuri seat. The following assembly seats will hold by-elections on Monday: Rampur Sadar and Khatauli in Uttar Pradesh, Padampur in Odisha, Sardarshahar in Rajasthan, Kurhani in Bihar, and Bhanupratappur in Chhattisgarh. Voters in Rajasthan will elect a new MLA to fill the empty Sardarshahar seat left open by the death of Congress MLA Bhanwar Lal Sharma. Odisha’s by-election for the Padampur seat was required due to the passing of Bijay Ranjan Singh Bariha, a member of the Biju Janta Dal (BJD). The death of Congress MLA and deputy speaker of the Assembly Manoj Singh Mandavi caused a byelection for the Scheduled Tribes-only Bhanupratappur constituency in Chhattisgarh.