75.91% turnout in bypoll to Dadra and Nagar Haveli Lok Sabha seat

The bypoll to the Dadra Nagar Haveli Lok Sabha constituency (reserved for ST) on Saturday saw an enthusiastic response with a 75.91 per cent turnout.

The seat fell vacant following the death of sitting Independent member Mohan Delkar in February this year.

As polling began in 333 booths, people queued up outside to cast their votes. No untoward incident was reported from anywhere in the Union Territory.

The contest was a three-cornered one with the Shiv Sena fielding Delkar's wife Kalavati Delkar, while the BJP had given ticket to Mahesh Gavit, who is fighting his first major election after his stint as a district panchayat councillor. The Congress candidate is Mahesh Dhodi.

Even though the Shiv Sena and the Congress are allies in Maharashtra, they contested against each other in Dadra and Nagar Haveli, which has a total of 2.58 lakh voters, including 1.22 lakh females.

While the Congress campaign remained a lacklustre exercise, without any prominent party leader visiting the constituency to canvass, the BJP had sent a host of Union Ministers, including Ashwini Vaishnaw, who is also the election in-charge, Smriti Irani, Bharati Pawar, and Parshottam Rupala. Even former Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis visited the constituency to support the BJP candidate.

The Shiv Sena had sent Maharashtra minister Aaditya Thackeray, the son of Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and party MP Sanjay Raut to campaign for Kalavati Delkar.

The counting of votes will be taken up on November 2.

--IANS