Gujarat bypolls: 40% voter turnout till 3 PM

Around 40 per cent voter turnout was reported till 3 PM in Gujarat, where bypolls are being held today in one Lok Sabha constituency, vacated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and nine Assembly seats.
After a slow start, polling picked up some steam as the day progressed.
"Gujarat has recorded 39.50 per cent voter turnout till 3 PM," a statement from the Election Commission said.
Vadodara Lok Sabha seat, vacated by Modi who retained Varanasi, recorded 33.41 per cent polling till 3 PM.
Limkheda Assembly constituency, which falls under the tribal district of Dahod, witnessed highest turnout of 58.23 per cent. The high-profile Maninagar seat in Ahmedabad, represented by Modi when he was Chief Minister, registered the lowest polling at 27.08 per cent.

The turnout in other Assembly seats was: Deesa (51.29%), Tankara (51.49%), Khambhalia (44.68%), Mangrol (46.06%), Anand (46.73%), Matar (40.78%) and Talaja (39.27%).

The polling day also witnessed some controversies as complaints of poll code violation were filed against some of the Congress candidates.
BJP has filed complaints with EC against Congress candidates Jatin Kella (Maninagar) and Kanti Sodha (Anand) for allegedly violating poll code by wearing scarfs with Congress' election symbol on them when they went to cast their votes.
BJP has sought legal action against both candidates, the party's state unit spokesperson Harshad Patel said.
Congress candidate from Vadodara Narendra Ravat sparked a controversy by clicking a selfie outside a polling booth, where he cast his vote, displaying the party symbol. He took the picture of his ink-marked finger.

The Assembly bye-elections were necessitated due to resignation of sitting BJP MLAs from their respective constituencies after they won the Lok Sabha polls.