Voting for bypolls to the assembly constituencies of Vallabhnagar (Udaipur) and Dhariawad (Pratapgarh) in Rajasthan to decide the fate of 16 candidates began amid tight security arrangements on Saturday morning.
The polling began at 7 am in both the constituencies and will go on till 6 pm, Chief Electoral Officer Praveen Gupta told PTI.
Counting of votes will take place on November 2, he said.
The bypolls were necessitated by the demise of Congress MLA from Vallabhnagar Gajendra Singh Shaktawat and BJP legislator from Dhariawad Gautam Lal Meena.
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A total of 5,11,455 voters – 2,53,831 in Vallabhnagar and 2,57,624 in Dhariawad – will be able to exercise their franchise. Nine candidates are in the fray for the Vallabhnagar seat and seven for Dhariawad, Gupta said.
A total of 638 polling booths have been set up in both the constituencies, and 119 of them are sensitive. Webcasting will be done in 64 sensitive booths and videography in 29.
Gupta said that 4,468 security personnel have been deployed in both constituencies to ensure free, fair and peaceful voting.
The voting will be conducted according to Covid-19 guidelines, he added.
In Vallabhnagar, the ruling Congress party has given its ticket to Gajendra Shaktawat's wife, Preeti Shaktawat, while the BJP has fielded Himmat Singh Jhala.
The Congress has fielded Nagraj Meena in Dhariawad against BJP candidate Khet Singh Meena.
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