Polling began on Saturday for byelections to one Lok Sabha and 31 Assembly seats spread across seven States amid tight security.
Congress’ actor-turned-politician Raj Babbar is pitched against SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav’s daughter-in- law Dimple Yadav in the Firozabad Lok Sabha seat in Uttar Pradesh, where a total of 177 candidates are in the fray in this constituency and 11 Assembly seats. In the State, 5,616 polling stations have been set at 3,682 centres to facilitate the polling.
The bypoll in Firozabad was necessitated by the resignation of SP MP and Mr. Mulayam Singh Yadav’s son Akhilesh Yadav, who had also won from the Kannauj seat.
Voting is underway in 10 Assembly seats in West Bengal, three in Kerala, two each in Assam, Himachal Pradesh and Rajasthan and one seat in Chhattisgarh. Most of the seats fell vacant due to sitting members becoming MPs.
Counting of votes would take place on November 10.