Hyderabad: Polls are being held today (April 9) in four constituencies across Karnataka, Nagaland and Tripura as part of the by-elections scheduled this month.
Voting began at 7 am today in Bagalkot and Davanagere South seats in Karnataka, Koridang constituency in Nagaland, and Dharmanagar in Tripura. The bypoll to the Ponda seat in Goa, however, was cancelled following an order by the Bombay High Court on Wednesday, which declared the Election Commission’s notification as null and void. The court noted that less than one year remains in the Assembly’s term, making the by-election unnecessary.
The by-elections are part of the larger exercise covering eight constituencies, with the remaining seats, Umreth in Gujarat and Rahuri and Baramati in Maharashtra, scheduled to go to polls on April 23. The bypolls in all the constituencies were necessitated due to the death of sitting MLAs.
In Karnataka, the contests are mainly between Congress and BJP candidates. The ruling Congress has fielded Karnataka Minister S S Mallikarjun’s son Samarth Shamanur in Davanagere South and Umesh Meti in Bagalkote, who are locked in a direct contest with BJP candidates T Dasakariyappa and Veerabhadrayya Charantimath.
In the Koridang seat in Nagaland, six candidates are in the fray. In Tripura, the Dharamanagar seat witnesses a multi-cornered contest involving BJP, Congress and CPI(M) candidates.
Security arrangements have been tightened, and polling is being conducted under strict supervision to ensure a smooth and fair electoral process. Counting of votes will take place on May 4.
