Six assembly seats in five states and Uttar Pradesh’s Mainpuri parliamentary seat on Monday recorded moderate polling till noon amid complaints of EVM glitches and Samajwadi Party’s allegations of police and administration preventing people from casting their votes.
Rampur Sadar and Khatauli in Uttar Pradesh, Padampur in Odisha, Sardarshahar in Rajasthan, Kurhani in Bihar and Bhanupratappur in Chhattisgarh are the assembly seats where the bypolls are being held.
All eyes are on the Mainpuri seat, which has been represented by Samajwadi Party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav five times in the past. election is a battle of prestige Akhilesh Yadav Whose wife Dimple Yadav is contesting the election. He is contesting against BJP’s Raghuraj Singh Shakya.
Around 19 per cent voters exercised their franchise till 11 am in Mainpuri, while Rampur Sadar and Khatauli assembly seats recorded 11.3 and 20.7 per cent polling, respectively, Election Commission officials said.
As the voting progressed, both SP and BJP started leveling allegations against each other.
The SP alleged the use of police force and also alleged that officials on election duty were preventing people from casting their votes.
The BJP also alleged on Twitter that at some booths in Mainpuri, “anti-social elements of SP” were preventing people from casting their votes and sought the intervention of the Election Commission. A party delegation also met the UP CEO and submitted a memorandum to him.
Rejecting the allegations, BJP state president Bhupendra Singh Choudhary said that the SP will taste defeat on all the three seats.
The by-election in Mainpuri Lok Sabha seat is being held due to the death of Mulayam Singh Yadav, while in Rampur Sadar and Khatauli, SP MLA Azam Khan and BJP MLA Vikram Singh Saini had to be held after being convicted in separate cases.
Odisha’s Padampur recorded over 29 per cent polling in the first four hours of polling.
Odisha Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) SK Lohani said EVM glitches were reported at four booths, following which the voting machines were replaced.
The bypoll assumes significance in the wake of the BJD’s defeat in Dhamnagar, its first defeat since 2009, with many in political circles claiming that the result would also indicate that the electoral scales would tilt against the Naveen Patnaik-led party beyond the 2024 state. Was there election or not.
The ruling BJD has fielded Barsha Singh Bariha, daughter of Bijay Ranjan Singh Bariha, whose death necessitated the bypoll, while the opposition BJP’s candidate is Pradeep Purohit, a former MLA and president of the party’s Krishak Morcha.
In Bihar’s Kurhani assembly seat, 24 per cent of the 3.11 lakh voters exercised their franchise in the first four hours. Election Commission official said.
Due to the disqualification of RJD MLA Anil Kumar Sahni, the by-election has become necessary in the assembly constituency falling in Muzaffarpur district.
A total of 13 candidates including five independents are in the fray.
In Chhattisgarh’s Bhanupratappur assembly seat in Kanker district, an average voter turnout of 9.89 per cent was recorded till 9 am.
Seven candidates are in the fray for the bypoll in the constituency reserved for Scheduled Tribes, though it is largely seen as a straight fight between the ruling Congress and the BJP.
The bypoll was necessitated by the death of Congress MLA and Deputy Speaker of the state assembly Manoj Singh Mandavi on October 16. The Congress has fielded his wife in the by-election.
Sarva Adivasi Samaj, an umbrella organization of tribal communities in Bastar, has also fielded its candidate, former Indian Police Service officer Akbar Ram Korram, who is contesting as an independent.
Around 20 per cent polling was recorded in the first three hours of polling in Sardarshahar seat of Churu district in Rajasthan.
A total of 2,89,843 voters are eligible to exercise their franchise in the bypoll to the assembly constituency, necessitated by the demise of Congress MLA Bhanwar Lal Sharma, who died on October 9 after a prolonged illness.
The Congress has fielded late MLA’s son Anil Kumar while former MLA Ashok Kumar is the BJP’s candidate.
Polling began at 7 am in Uttar Pradesh, Odisha and Chhattisgarh, while it began at 8 am in Rajasthan.
The counting of votes will take place on December 8.
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