Bypolls voting 2024: Polling started on a dull note on November 20 in the bypolls to 15 assembly seats spread across Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Kerala and Uttarakhand.
The Palakkad assembly constituency, which saw a high octane campaign that gave rise to scores of controversies, saw a voter turnout of 70.01 per cent till 6.49 pm on Wednesday after voting in the bypoll concluded in over 86 per cent of the polling booths.
This was a decline from the 73.83 per cent turnout recorded in the assembly polls held in the state in 2021.
When polling started at 7 am, it proceeded slowly with a low turnout of only 1.11 per cent at 8 am, according to figures released by the Election Commission (EC).
At 6.49 pm, the turnout reached 70.01 per cent after voting concluded in 159 of the 184 polling booths in the constituency, the EC said.
It said that this was not the final figure as in the remaining booths, people were waiting in line to cast their votes.
A voter turnout of over 50 per cent was recorded in the bypolls to 15 assembly seats spread across Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Kerala and Uttarakhand on Wednesday amid stray incidents of violence and complaints of irregularities against police officials and misuse of government machinery.
Acting on complaints by SP president Akhilesh Yadav against police officers checking voter cards and Aadhaar IDs, the Election Commission ordered suspension of five police personnel in Uttar Pradesh violating its guidelines on checking of voters and stopping them from casting votes.
Poll officials said nearly 50 per cent voters exercised their franchise by 5 pm in Uttar Pradesh.
The Election Commission's update at 5 pm showed the voter turnout at: Ghaziabad (33.30 per cent), Katehari (56.69 per cent), Khair (46.43 per cent), Kundarki (57.32 per cent), Karhal (53.92 per cent), Majhawan (50.41 per cent), Meerapur (57.02 per cent), Phulpur (43.43 per cent), Sisamau (49.03 per cent).
About 49.3 per cent voters cast their votes in bypolls to nine assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday with Ghaziabad logging just 33 per cent.
The state had recorded an overall turnout of 61.03 per cent in the 2022 assembly polls.
Voting started at 7 am in Katehari, Karhal, Mirapur, Ghaziabad, Majhawan, Sisamau, Khair, Phulpur and Kundarki seats and continued till 5 pm.
According to the Election Commission, the approximate voter turnout till 5 pm was 49.3 per cent.
The voter turnout in Ghaziabad was 33.3 per cent, Katehari (56.9 per cent), Khair (46.3 per cent), Kundarki (57.7 per cent), Karhal (54.1 per cent), Majhawan (50.41 per cent), Meerapur (57.1 per cent), Phulpur (43.43 per cent) and Shisamau (49.1 per cent).
Nearly 60 per cent voter turnout was recorded till 5 pm in the bypolls to four assembly segments in Punjab on Wednesday that largely remained peaceful, barring a minor clash between AAP and Congress supporters in Dera Baba Nanak.
Bypolls to the Gidderbaha, Dera Baba Nanak, Chabbewal (SC) and Barnala assembly segments were necessitated after the incumbent legislators were elected to the Lok Sabha.
The polling began at 7 am ended at 5 pm, but the turnout may increase once all voting data comes in.
A voter turnout of 59.67 per cent was registered till 5 pm, officials said. The Gidderbaha seat recorded 78.10 per cent polling, Dera Baba Nanak 59.80 per cent, Barnala 52.70 per cent and Chabbewal 48.01 per cent.
A voter turnout of 57.64 per cent was recorded in the Kedarnath Assembly bypoll in Uttarakhand till 6 pm on Wednesday.
"The bypoll went off peacefully with no untoward incident reported from the constituency. Till the end of polling at 6 pm, 57.64 per cent of the electorate cast their votes," Chief Electoral Officer BVRC Purushottam said.
A total of 173 polling booths were set up in the constituency, 130 of them equipped with CCTV cameras. The booths were monitored by the offices of the district and chief election officers as well as the Election Commission through webcasting, Purushottam said.
Polling in the Palakkad assembly by-election on Wednesday crossed the 50 per cent turnout more than eight hours after voting commenced.
At 3.45 pm the turnout reached 54.64 per cent, according to figures released by the Election Commission.
In the morning, the initial hour of polling saw a low turnout of only 1.11 per cent at 8 am which crossed 40 per cent at 1.15 pm.
Voting for bypolls in nine assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh picked up pace after a sluggish start, with nearly 42 per cent voters turning up to exercise their franchise by 3 pm on Wednesday.
Voting started at 7 am in Katehari, Karhal, Mirapur, Ghaziabad, Majhawan, Sisamau, Khair, Phulpur and Kundarki seats and will end at 5 pm.
According to the Election Commission's update at 3 pm, the average voting across the seats stood at 41.92 per cent.
The Election Commission (EC) update showed the following voter turnout: Ghaziabad (27.44 per cent), Katehari (49.29 per cent), Khair (39.86 per cent), Kundarki (50.03 per cent), Karhal (44.70 per cent), Majhawan (43.64 per cent), Meerapur (49.06 per cent), Phulpur (36.58 per cent), Sisamau (40.29 per cent).
A voter turnout of 47 per cent was recorded in the Kedarnath assembly bypoll in Uttarakhand till 3 pm on Wednesday, officials said.
Polling began at 8 am and will go on till 6 pm. After a slow start, numbers of voters at polling booths swelled as the day progressed.
By 3 pm, 47 per cent of the electorate had cast their votes, an election official said.
Close to 50 per cent voter turnout was recorded till 3 pm in the bypolls to four assembly segments in Punjab on Wednesday while a minor clash between AAP and Congress supporters was reported from Dera Baba Nanak.
Bypolls to the Gidderbaha, Dera Baba Nanak, Chabbewal (SC) and Barnala assembly segments were necessitated after the incumbent legislators were elected to the Lok Sabha. Polling began at 7 am and would continue till 6 pm.
A voter turnout of 49.61 per cent was registered till 3 pm, they said.
The Gidderbaha seat recorded 65.80 per cent polling, Dera Baba Nanak 52.2 per cent, Barnala 40 per cent and Chabbewal 40.25 per cent.
A voter turnout of 34.40 per cent was recorded in the Kedarnath assembly bypoll in Uttarakhand till 1 pm on Wednesday, officials said.
Polling began at 8 am and will go on till 6 pm. After a slow start, numbers of voters at polling booths swelled as the day progressed.
By 1 pm, 34.40 per cent of the electorate had cast their votes, an election official said.
District electoral officer Saurabh Gaharwar visited polling booths to ensure voting was going on smoothly. He also appealed to people to come out in large numbers to vote.
Acting on complaints, the Election Commission has ordered the suspension of police personnel violating its guidelines on checking of voters and stopping them from casting votes in the Uttar Pradesh bypolls.
This comes after SP president Akhilesh Yadav urged the EC to suspend all police officers who are checking voter cards and Aadhaar IDs on thebasis of video evidence.
Acting on the Commission's directions, district election officers and superintendents of police, after verifying the complaints, have suspended the police personnel for their conduct.
According to the Election Commission's update at 1pm, the average voting across the seats stood at 31.21 per cent.
In Uttar Pradesh, byelections are held in Katehari, Karhal, Meerapur, Ghaziabad, Majhawan, Sisamau, Khair, Phulpur, and Kundarki.
An EC update showed the following voter turnout: Ghaziabad (20.92 per cent), Katehari (24.28 per cent), Khair (28.80 per cent), Kundarki (41.01 per cent), Karhal (32.29 per cent), Majhawan (31.68 per cent), Meerapur (36.77 per cent), Phulpur (26.67 per cent), Sisamau (28.50 per cent).
A total of 90 candidates are contesting in these constituencies, with Ghaziabad having the highest number of candidates at 14. There are 34,35,974 registered voters in the state, comprising 18,46,846 men, 15,88,967 women, and 161 third-gender voters. Ghaziabad has the largest voter base, while Sisamau has the smallest.
This marks the first electoral challenge for the INDIA bloc and the NDA in the politically significant state since the Lok Sabha elections.
A clash broke out between Congress and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) workers at a polling booth in Punjab's Dera Pathana on Wednesday during the by-elections. Voting is underway in Punjab's Dera Baba Nanak assembly seat.
Gurdaspur MP Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, who is the husband of Congress nominee Jatinder Kaur, alleged that some "outsiders" at the behest of the AAP thrashed his party worker in the village and also accused the police of not taking action.
However, AAP nominee Gurdeep Singh Randhawa rejected Randhawa's allegations as baseless.
A voter turnout of over 36 percent was recorded till 1 pm. In Punjab, voters of four constituencies—Gidderbaha, Dera Baba Nanak, Chabbewal (SC), and Barnala—are casting their ballots.
Officials said Gidderbaha seat recorded 50.09 percent polling, Dera Baba Nanak 39.4 percent, Barnala 28.1 percent and Chabbewal 27.95 percent.
The by-elections were prompted by the fact that the legislators representing these constituencies were elected to the Lok Sabha during the general elections earlier this year.
Forty-five candidates, including three women, are in the fray. A total of 6.96 lakh voters are eligible to exercise their franchise.
The bypolls will decide the fate of key contestants, including BJP nominee and former Punjab finance minister Manpreet Singh Badal, Congress's Amrita Warring, Jatinder Kaur, AAP's Hardeep Singh Dimpy Dhillon, Dr Ishank Kumar Chabbewal and BJP's Kewal Singh Dhillon, Sohan Singh Thandal and Ravikaran Singh Kahlon.
Amrita Warring is the wife of Punjab Congress chief and Ludhiana MP Amrinder Singh Raja Warring. Jatinder Kaur is the spouse of Gurdaspur MP and former Punjab deputy chief minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa.
Besides Uttar Pradesh and Punjab, bypolls are being held for the Palakkad seat in Kerala and Kedarnath in Uttarakhand.
As by-polls are also underway on several seats, Kedarnath in Uttarakhand recorded a turnout of 34.40 per cent while Palakkad in Kerala recorded a 40.16 per cent turnout till 1 pm.
The initial hour of polling saw a low turnout of only 1.11 per cent at 8 am which climbed to 6.76 per cent by 8.30 am and reached 13.63 per cent by around 9.30 am, according to figures released by the Election Commission.
