By-elections: Polling begins for 1 Lok Sabha seat, 4 assembly seats
The TMC has fielded yesteryear actor Shatrughan Sinha in Asansol, which has a substantial Hindi-speaking population.
The by-elections in the states of West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, Bihar and Maharashtra are being held today. The bypolls to one Lok Sabha seat – Asansol in West Bengal – and four assembly seats – Ballygunge in West Bengal, Khairagarh in Chhattisgarh, Bochahan in Bihar and Kolhapur North in Maharashtra started at 7 a.m. today.
Polling began at 7 am on Tuesday for the by-election to the Asansol Lok Sabha seat and Ballygunge assembly segment in West Bengal amid tight security arrangements. Altogether 680 of the total 2,012 booths in Asansol in Paschim Bardhaman district, and all the 300 booths in Ballygunge in south Kolkata have been identified as “sensitive”, he said. Around 15 lakh voters are eligible to exercise their franchise in Asansol. There are around 2.5 lakh voters in Ballygunge.
A total of 133 companies of central forces have been deployed in the two constituencies – 70 in Ballygunge and the remaining in Asansol. The polling will continue till 6.30 pm. The by-elections were necessitated as Babul Supriyo resigned as the MP of Asansol after switching over to the TMC from the BJP, while state minister Subrata Mukherjee, who represented Ballygunge, died last year. The TMC has fielded yesteryear actor Shatrughan Sinha in Asansol, which has a substantial Hindi-speaking population. The BJP has nominated Asansol Dakshin MLA Agnimitra Paul.
Mamata Banerjee’s party has fielded Supriyo in Ballygunge where he is pitted against BJP’s Keya Ghosh and CPI(M)’s Saira Shah Halim. The Congress is also in the fray in both the seats.
News Credit: India TV News
