Bypolls For Srinagar Lok Sabha Seat, 10 Assembly Segments Held

80% voter turnout for Dholpur bypoll
* Around 80 percent turnout was witnessed in the polling for the Dholpur Assembly constituency where the ruling BJP is engaged in a fierce fight with opposition Congress and a dozen independent candidates.
* It was a peaceful election on 231 booths, which nearly 1500 polling personnel handled, said Chief Electoral Officer Ashwini Bhagat
* Tight security arrangements were made on sensitive polling booths. Approximately 80 percent voters exercised their right, said Chief Electoral Officer Ashwini Bhagat
* Due to some technical problem, voting had to be stopped at polling booth No-163. The matter was informed to the Election Commission of India (ECI) and re-polling may be done on the booth.
* For the first time voters exercised their franchise on VVPAT (Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail) machines, which have been introduced in the state for the first time.
* Apart from BJP candidate Shobha Rani and Congress's Banwari Lal Sharma and 13 other candidates including 12 independents contested election.
* Nearly 1.91 lakh voters were eligible to to cast their votes.
* Counting of votes will take place on April 13.

60% votes cast in Ater, 65% in Bandhavgarh in Madhya Pradesh
* Arson and firing were reported from many places on Sunday as 60 percent of the voters exercised their franchise in Ater assembly seat by-poll in Bhind district of Madhya Pradesh.
* The voting percentage was 65 for Bandhavgarh seat in Umaria district.
* The violence broke out in Ater segment between supporters of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and opposition Congress, during which several vehicles were damaged.
* The Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail is being used in the two bypolls, apart from the electronic voting machines.
* State Chief Electoral Officer Salina Singh said no reports of booth capturing were received.
* In Ater, Arvind Singh Bhadoria (BJP), Hemant Katare (Congress) and Samajwadi Party's Dinesh Singh are in the fray.
* In Bandhavgarh, Congress rcandidate Savitri Singh is pitted against Shivnarayan Singh of the BJP.
* The counting of votes will be taken up on April 13.

80% voter turnout in Karnataka bypolls
* A record 80 percent turnout in bypolls to Karnataka's Gundlupet and 76 percent in Nanjangud (reserved) assembly constituencies on Sunday. The percentatge is likely to go up.
* Barring stray incidents like voting being held up due to glitches in the EVMs in some booths and poll boycott in a village in the Nanjangud segment, the bye-polls were peaceful in both the segments amid tight security.
* Though the polling process began at 7 am, voting only gathered momentum during the day and turned brisk after 3 pm despite the weather being hot and humid.
* A 94-year-old woman died at her home on return from a pooling booth after casting her vote at Hangala village in the Nanjangud segment, said police.
* In another incident, about 700 voters boycotted polling in protest against lack of basic amenities in their village (Mahadevanagara) in Nanjangud.
* Nanjangud has 2,00,498 voters and 236 polling stations while Gundlupet has 2,00,821 electorate and 250 polling booths.
* Vote count is on April 13.

47% turnout in Delhi's Rajouri Garden bypoll
* Around 47 percent voting was registered in the Rajouri Garden assembly by-poll in Delhi on Sunday.
* In the 2015 assembly elections, when the Aam Aadmi Party swept to power, the constituency had witnessed 72 percent.
* AAP's Harjeet Singh, Congress' Meenakshi Chandela and BJP-SAD's Manjinder Singh Sirsa are in the fray from the seat.

72.15% voting in Jharkhand bypoll
* Amid tight security, 72.15 percent of the over 1.95 lakh voters exercised their franchise in Jharkhand's Littipara assembly bypoll on Sunday.
* Pakur Deputy Commissioner-cum-Returning Officer Muthu Kumar said the polling began at 7 am amid tight security.
* Ten candidates are in the fray for the seat, the contest for which has become a prestige issue for both the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the opposition Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM).
* Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das campaigned for five days for party candidate -- former JMM strongman and former Cabinet Minister Hemlal Murmu -- to turn the tide in the latter's favour.
* Counting of votes will be taken up on April 13.

82% Voting in West Bengal Assembly bypoll
* Close to 82 percent votes were cast in the Kanthi Dakshin assembly by-poll in West Bengal on Sunday.
* Polling was peaceful. Close to 82 percent polling has been reported till 6 pm but the figure is likely to go up as final report has not been obtained yet.
* Over 2.07 lakh voters, including around one lakh women and one belonging to the third gender, were eligible to choose their representative from among five candidates.
* There are 258 polling stations. Six companies of central forces, and around a thousand state police personnel were deployed to ensure free and fair poll.
* The ruling Trinamool Congress nominated former Minister of State for Health Chandrima Bhattacharya as the party candidate for the constituency in East Midnapore district.
* The Left Front nominated Uttam Pradhan of the Communist Party of India (CPI), while Sourindramohan Jana and Nabakumar Chanda were contesting on BJP and Congress tickets respectively.

77% polling in Dholpur assembly bypoll
* Over 77 percent polling was registered for the Dholpur Assembly bypoll in Rajasthan on Sunday.
* Till 6 pm tentatively around 77.26 percent of the 1.91 lakh voters had cast their votes, a state election department official said.
* The polling started at 7 am across 231 polling stations, and continued till 6 pm.
* Young and first time voters were particularly excited to cast their votes.
* Security was tight and 67 polling stations were identified as critical where extra security arrangements were made.
* There were some issues of EVMs not working properly but it was rectified soon.
* The counting will take place on April 13 when the fate of 15 candidates will be decided. The main contest is between the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party's Shobha Rani Kushavah, wife of the convicted BSP leader, and Congress party's Banwari Lal Sharma, a former minister.

Himachal by-poll sees over 63% voter turnout
* Ahead of the assembly elections in Himachal Pradesh slated for this year-end, the bypoll for the assembly seat of Bhoranj on Sunday saw over 63 percent voting.
* Long queues of electors were seen across the constituency in Hamirpur district during the day. The voters started reaching the polling stations even before voting opened at 8 am.
* The election in the Bhoranj assembly constituency concluded peacefully. The poll percentage was 63.33 percent, said electoral officer Madan Chauhan.
* The highest polling in a booth was 82.1 percent, while the lowest was 53 percent. A total of 46,848 voters out of 73,485 cast their votes, said electoral officer Madan Chauhan.
* The VVPAT technique has been used in the state for the first time.
* Leader of Opposition and two-time BJP Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal and his wife were among those who exercised their franchise.
* Five candidates, including three Independents, are in the fray.
* The main contest is between the ruling Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
* The Election Commission had set up 99 polling stations to enable 73,485 voters, including 37,843 women, to exercise their franchise.
* Voting began on a slow note in the first few hours but picked up gradually as the day progressed. By 1 pm it rose to 47 percent and 57.76 percent by 3 pm.

79.7% turnout in Kanthi Dakshin Assembly bypoll
* An estimated 79.7 percent polling was recorded in the Assembly by-poll in Kanthi Dakshin constituency in East Midnapore district till 5 pm.
* Polling ended at 6 pm. Over 2.5 lakh voters were eligible to exercise their franchise in this by-poll.
* Voters, a large number of them women, cast their vote in 258 booths spread across the constituency since the morning hours, braving heat and humidity.
* Five candidates are in the fray including Chandrima Bhattacharya of TMC, Sourindra Mohan Jana of BJP, Uttam Pradhan of CPI(M) and Nabakumar Nandi of Congress.
* The by-election is being held after TMC MLA Dibyendu Adhikari's election to the Lok Sabha from Tamluk seat.

68% voter turnout marks Jharkhand bypoll
* Around 68 percent polling took place in Jharkhand's Littipara assembly by-poll on Sunday, an election official said.
* The polling began at 7 am amid tight security arrangements. Forces in large numbers and mobile units were deployed at polling centres.
* A total of 10 candidates are are in fray, whose fate will be decided by 1,95,150 voters.
* The by-poll to the Littipara seat has turned out to be an issue of prestige for the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the opposition Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) in the state.
* The BJP is trying to capture a seat that the JMM has held for the last 40 years.
* Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das himself campaigned for five days for the party candidate in the by-poll.
* The BJP has fielded former JMM strongman and former cabinet minister Hemlal Murmu. The JMM has once again backed its old warrior Simon Marandi.

67.97% voting recorded in Assam's Dhemaji assembly bypoll
* Voting in the Assam assembly bypoll in Dhemaji constituency passed off peacefully on Sunday, with 66.97 percent of the total 2,19,751 voters casting their votes, said Dhemaji Returning Officer Roshni Aparanji Korati.
* Korati said polling started at 7 am and ended at 4.00 pm. No untoward incident was reported, barring a technical glitch on one Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT), which was immediately replaced.
* The VVPAT machines were used in polls for the first time in the state, said Dhemaji Returning Officer Roshni Aparanji Korati.
* Adequate security forces were deployed to ensure free and fair poll, Korati said, adding 20 polling stations were marked as "very sensitive" and 141 others as "sensitive".
* Men and women in large numbers queued up at the 273 polling stations well before voting began at 7.00 a.m. despite a spell of heavy rain, Korati said.
* Five candidates are in the fray but the main contest is likely to take place between ruling BJP candidate Ranoj Pegu and Congress nominee Babul Sonowal.
* The other three candidates are Communist Party of India-Marxist's Jadu Hazarika, Socialist Unity Centre of India-Communist's Hem Kanta Miri and Independent Rajkumar Doley.
* In the 126-member Assam assembly, the BJP has 60 members, the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) 14 and the Bodoland People's Front (BPF) 12. The opposition Congress has 26 members, All India United Democratic Front 13 and one Independent.
* The counting of votes will be held on April 13.

Poor 6.5 percent polling in bypoll for Srinagar Lok Sabha seat
* An abysmally low 6.5 percent polling has been recorded in the bypoll for the Srinagar Lok Sabha seat from where Jammu and Kashmir's former chief minister Farooq Abdullah is contesting.
* I cannot say anything about the repoll as of now; The figure can be anywhere around 50 or 100 polling stations or more than that, says J&K Chief Electoral Officer Shantanu
* Anantnag Lok Sabha seat in south Kashmir, where bypoll is scheduled for April 12, would pose a "bigger challenge", says J&K Chief Electoral Officer Shantanu.
* Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti's younger brother Tasaduq Mufti is making his electoral debut from Anantnag.

ALSO READ: Bypolls Turn Bloody With Five Deaths in Srinagar, Clashes in Bhind

While at least five people were killed and over 40 injured in clashes between protesters and security forces during polling for Srinagar Lok Sabha seat, stone pelting and clashes were reported from Ater Assembly seat in Bhind district of Madhya Pradesh.

56.35 percent votes cast till 3 PM in Dhemaji (in Assam)
* A total of 56.35 percent of over two lakh voters exercised their franchise till 3 pm in the bypoll to Dhemaji Assembly constituency in Assam on Sunday.
* Announcing this, Returning Officer Roshni Aparanji Korati said that no untoward incident has been reported.
* The bypoll was necessitated following the election of BJP MLA Pradan Baruah to the Lok Sabha after Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal vacated his Parliamentary seat.
* Earlier in the day, technical faults were reported in some of the polling booths, after which eight EVMs and 28 Voters Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) machines were replaced.
* The five candidates in the fray are Ranoj Pegu of BJP, Babul Sonowal of Congress, Jadu Hazarika of CPI(M), Hem Kanta Miri of SUCI(C) and Independent Rajkumar Doley.
* The bypoll is being held in 273 booths and 20 and 141 were of them were declared as very sensitive and sensitive respectively.
* The constituency has a total of 2,19,751 voters of which 1,12,510 are male.

Over 52 percent voting in MP bypolls
* Amid reports of violence and allegations of booth capturing, over 52 percent ballotting was recorded in bypolls for two Madhya Pradesh assembly seats -- Ater in Bhind district and Bandhavgarh in Umaria district -- on Sunday.
* According to the Election Commission, over 53 percent voter turnout was recorded in Ater and over 52 percent in Bandhavgarh till 3 pm on Sunday.
* Several incidents of violence, including clashes between the Congress and BJP activists, were reported from Ater.
* There were also instances of stone pelting and reports of alleged firing in Ater.
* Congress candidate from the constituency Hemant Katare accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) goons of attacking his car and also of booth capturing.
* The BJP in turn has accused the Congress of violating the poll model code of conduct and has demanded re-polling in several booths in Ater.
* State Chief Electoral Officer Saleena Singh, interacting with the media, admitted there were attempts at malpractices in certain booths but asserted that there was no booth capturing.
The counting of votes in both assembly bypolls would take place on April 13.

5 killed in Srinagar
* In one of the worst incidents of poll-violence in the state, at least 5 persons were killed on Sunday when security forces opened fire to disperse protestors in central Kashmir's Budgam district, where polling in by-election for the Srinagar-Budgam parliamentary seat is being held.
* The security forces opened fire reportedly after a mob attacked the polling station in Dalwan village, damaged the EVMs and prevented voters from exercising their franchise.
* A mob torched a bus and also damaged the EVMs at a polling station in Beerwah as also in Wathura area of Budgam district, the police official said.

ALSO READ: Bypolls Turn Bloody With Five Deaths in Srinagar, Clashes in Bhind

While at least five people were killed and over 40 injured in clashes between protesters and security forces during polling for Srinagar Lok Sabha seat, stone pelting and clashes were reported from Ater Assembly seat in Bhind district of Madhya Pradesh.

Dholpur LS bypoll: 69% voting till 4 PM
* Around 69 percent votes were cast till 4 PM in the by-election to Dholpur Assembly constituency in Rajasthan.
* A total of 69.02 percent polling was recorded till 4 PM, an official in the election office said.
* The by-election in the constituency began peacefully at 7 AM at 231 polling booths. The voting will continue till 6 PM.
*A total of nearly 1.91 lakh voters are eligible to cast votes in the bypoll, of which nearly 1.18 lakh are men and 90,000 are women.
*A total of 15 candidates are in the fray. Apart from BJP candidate Shobha Rani and Congress' Banwari Lal Sharma, 13 other candidates including wife of dacoit Jagan Gujjar, Mamta, are contesting.

Over 52% voting in West Bengal Assembly bypoll
* Around 52 percent votes were cast in six hours in the Kanthi Dakshin assembly by-poll in West Bengal on Sunday, 
* The ruling Trinamool Congress has nominated former Minister of State for Health Chandrima Bhattacharya as the party candidate
* The seat had fallen vacant after the party's sitting legislator Dibyendu Adhikari was elected to the Lok Sabha from the Tamluk seat in a by-poll last year.
* Bhattacharya had lost from Dum Dum (North) in last year's assembly polls.

Polling % in Dhemaji bypoll#

Assam: 56.35 percent voter turnout recorded till 3 PM in Dhemaji bypoll

 
35 percent voter turnout recorded till 3 pm in Rajouri Garden assembly election by-poll in New Delhi.

35% voting recorded till 3:00 pm in Rajouri Garden assembly election by-poll in #NewDelhi

— All India Radio News (@airnewsalerts) April 9, 2017

Two more die in Srinagar violence during bypolls, toll mounts to five, reports CNN-News18's Mufti Islah

56 percent polling has been recorded at Dhemaji assembly in Assam till 3 pm

56% polling reported at Dhemaji assembly in #Assam till 3 pm.

— All India Radio News (@airnewsalerts) April 9, 2017

Click to read | MP Bypolls: Congress Alleges Firing at Ater Candidate by BJP Workers

Stray incidents of violence were reported in the bypoll underway at Madhya Pradesh's Ater Assembly seat with the Congress alleging that its candidate was attacked by the BJP workers and gunshots were fired at him.

Senior Congress leader and Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee (DPCC) chief Ajay Maken said: This bypoll is very important and the Congress will win this election. The contest is mainly between the Congress and the BJP. This is directly parliamentary election

11.02 per cent turnout was recorded in the first three hours in Rajouri Garden constituency

Rajasthan: 44 percent polling has been recorded in Dholpur assembly seat till 12 noon

Click to read: To 'Avenge' Poll Defeat in UP, BSP Supports Congress in Madhya Pradesh Bypoll

In order to

Click to read: : Three Killed in Clashes During Srinagar Bypoll, Six Polling Booths Abandoned

At least three people were killed and 40 injured in clashes between protestors and security forces while polling was underway for the Srinagar Lok Sabha seat in Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday.

Tamluk bypolls: Voters, a large number of them women, were seen standing before 258 booths spread across the constituency since the morning braving heat and humidity