The Supreme Court closed a plea by Goa Congress leader Ketan Bhatikar, who died from a snakebite, challenging the cancellation of the Ponda assembly bypoll by the Bombay High Court.
Counting of votes begins in Tamil Nadu, Assam, Kerala, Puducherry, and West Bengal, with significant implications for regional and national parties.
In the 2017 state assembly polls, the Congress had emerged as the single largest party by winning 17 seats.
