Shahkot Assembly bypoll: 44 pc voting till 1 pm

Over 40 per cent polling was recorded till 1 pm in Shahkot Assembly constituency of Punjab, where voting for a bypoll is underway.

"44 per cent polling has been recorded till 1 pm in Shahkot Assembly constituency," Punjab's Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) S Karuna Raju told PTI.

There was no report of any violence from anywhere in the constituency.

"The polling has been peaceful," the Punjab CEO said.

However, four voter-verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT) machines and a control unit were replaced at some polling booths after the devices developed malfunctioning during the mock polling, he added.

Polling for the by-election began at 7 am and will continue till 6 pm.

While the ruling Congress party in the state is hoping to maintain its winning momentum, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) is aiming to retain the seat.

The bypoll was necessitated following the demise of Shahkot's Akali MLA Ajit Singh Kohar in February.

The Congress has fielded Hardev Singh Laddi, while the SAD has given ticket to Kohar's son, Naib Singh Kohar. Rattan Singh Kakkar Kalan of the AAP is also in the fray.

While casting their votes, both Laddi and Kohar exuded confidence that they would win the bypoll.

As many as 1,72,676 voters will decide the fate of 12 candidates, who are in the fray.

Of the 236 polling booths in the constituency, webcasting will be held at 103.

On the Akali Dal's allegations that vehicles bearing registration number of other states were seen moving in the constituency, Raju said the teams concerned were constantly following up on the matter, but nothing was substantiated as yet.

The Election Commission (EC) has deployed a total of 1,022 security personnel, including six companies of the Border Security Force (BSF), in Shahkot, an official said, adding that 1,416 polling staff have been deployed for the bypoll.

Electronic voting machines (EVMs) and VVPAT machines are being used at all the polling stations.

Shahkot is known to be a pocket borough of the Akali Dal. Kohar was a five-time MLA from the constituency.

The main opposition, Aam Aadmi Party, which had faced a humiliating defeat in the Gurdaspur Lok Sabha bypoll and the civic polls in the state, is desperately looking for a victory in Shahkot.

In last year's election to the 117-member Punjab Assembly, the Congress had won 77 seats, while the SAD-BJP alliance had won 18. The AAP had won 20 seats, while the Lok Insaf Party had bagged the remaining two seats.