E-Paper
Assembly bypolls held for 54 seats in 10 states
Bypolls to 54 assembly seats across 10 states were held on Tuesday, with the Election Commission adopting different guidelines to contain the spread of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) .
Bypolls to 54 assembly seats across 10 states were held on Tuesday, with the Election Commission adopting different guidelines to contain the spread of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) . The voting was largely peaceful except for sporadic incidents of violence being reported from Madhya Pradesh where elections to 28 seats took place, polling officials said.
Close to 70% voting was registered in the bypolls to 28 seats with violence and attempts to capture EVMs being reported from a few places, resulting in bullet injuries to four persons, officials said.
“The polling was peaceful. The incidents of violence mainly took place away from the polling centres, ” state’s additional chief electoral officer Arun Kumar Tomar said.
As part of the Covid-19 guidelines, voters were allowed to enter the polling booths only after sanitising their hands and undergoing a thermal screening.
“I have cast my vote for progress, development and prosperity of Madhya Pradesh,” Rajya Sabha MP and BJP leader Jyotiraditya Scindia said after voting.
Around 53% voters cast their vote across seven seats . A total of 88 candidates were in the fray in the bypolls. “All preparations to ensure a free, fair and peaceful polling, keeping in mind the coronavirus pandemic, have been made,” UP chief electoral officer Ajay Kumar Shukla said.
The bypolls to eight assembly seats recorded 58.58% voter turnout, officials said. “Voting took place in a peaceful manner. No untoward incident took place,” said chief electoral officer (CEO) of Gujarat S Murali Krishna.
About 68% voters exercised their franchise in the bypoll for Baroda assembly seat. There were 14 candidates, including Olympic medallist wrestler and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) nominee Yogeshwar Dutt, in the fray.
Odisha Chief Electoral Officer SK Lohani said that by 5pm on Tuesday , 68.19% of the 230,000 voters in Balasore Sadar assembly seat of Balasore district and 67.97 % of the 237,000 voters in Tirtol assembly constituency of Jagatsinghpur district had voted.
According to officials, Dumka, one of the two seats that polled on Tuesday, registered 65.27% turnout and the other seat, Bermo, saw 60.20% polling.
Around 77% polling was recorded in Marwahi, where for the first time in 20 years no member of the Jogi family contested.
Around 83% voters cast their votes for Dubbak constituency in Telangana’s Siddipet.
The Sira seat saw brisk polling with 82.31% turnout, the RR Nagar seat saw 45.24% polling till 6 pm.
Both the Southern Angami and Pungro-Kiphire seats two assembly seats recorded more than 80 % polling.
