An estimated 50 to 55 per cent of nearly 51044 voters on Thursday exercised their franchise in the by-poll to the Kapkot assembly seat to decide the fate of eight candidates including ruling BJP's Sher Singh Garhia and Congress' Chamu Singh Gasyal.
By the end of polling 50 to 55 per cent voter turnout was recorded in Kapkot, election officials here said.
Kapkot by-poll is considered crucial for the BJP which was drubbed in all the five five Lok Sabha seats in the hill state in the just-concluded general election.
The contest also assumes significance for the ruling BJP which is one short majority in the State Assembly with an effective strength of 68.
Three Uttarakhand Kranti Dal legislators are supporting the party which, at present, has 34 MLAs.
The by-poll, in which BJP's Sher Singh Garhia and Chamu Singh Gasyal of the Congress are crossing swords, arose after BJP leader Bhagat Singh Koshiyari quit the seat following his election to the Rajya Sabha.
Koshiyari had defeated Gasyal on the seat in the 2007 assembly elections which saw BJP storming to power in Uttarakhand.
{{/usCountry}}Koshiyari had defeated Gasyal on the seat in the 2007 assembly elections which saw BJP storming to power in Uttarakhand.
{{/usCountry}}