Himachal bypoll: Polling begins in two assembly seats

Polling for two assembly seats in Himachal Pradesh has begun at 8 am on Monday, a state election official said.

The voting started at a slow pace which is likely to pick up during the day. The polling will continue till 6 pm, the official said.

As many as 82,137 and 74,487 voters are eligible to exercise their right to franchise in Dharamshala and Pachhad respectively, Additional Chief Electoral Officer Rupali Thakur said.

A total of 202 polling stations have been set up for Pachhad and Dharamshala seats. While 113 polling stations are in Pachhad, 89 are in Dharamshala, she added.

An auxiliary polling station has been set up at the Dari old-age home to facilitate 24 elderly inmates to cast their votes in Dharamshala, Thakur said.

Thirteen polling stations in Pachhad and 10 in Dharamshala have been identified as vulnerable, Thakur said, adding that four polling stations in Dharamshala are critical.

While seven candidates are in fray from Dharamshala, five are trying their luck from Pachhad.

By-elections to Pachhad and Dharamshala Assembly seats were necessitated after sitting BJP MLAs Suresh Kashyap and Kishan Kapoor, respectively, were elected to the Lok Sabha this May.