LIVE UPDATES:
- Over 54 per cent polling was recorded in the Kairana Lok Sabha constituency while 61 per cent votes were cast in the Noorpur Assembly constituency.
- According to an Election Commission official, Kairana Lok Sabha bypoll saw a turnout of 54.17 per cent while the figure was 61 per cent for the Noorpur Assembly constituency. Polling was peaceful at both the places, the official said.
- Over 43 per cent polling was recorded till 4 pm today in the Kairana Lok Sabha constituency while 47 per cent votes were polled in the Noorpur Assembly constituency, where bypolls are underway, amid complaints of EVMs malfunctioning.
- Instead of index fingers, middle fingers of some voters are being inked by officials to differentiate between them, as Panchayat elections were held in some parts of Palghar, Maharashtra yesterday.
- Muslim voters allegedly prevented from casting votes at Public Inter College booth.
- 10.20% voting recorded till 9 am in Kairana Lok Sabha by-election.
- Voting could not be started due to an error in the EVM at booth No. 183 of Navegaon. Due to being a Naxalite area, voting was going to be held till 3 o'clock only.
- Voting stalled at Public Inter College, Kairana due to faulty VVPAT.
- For the Palghar seat, an editorial in the Sena mouthpiece Saamana today said its nominee will win, despite the BJP roping in UP CM Yogi Adityanath in the poll campaign."Lord Ram will emerge from the ballot box, wielding bow and arrow (Sena's symbol) and win this seat," it said.
- Amid very tight security, the voting begins for four Lok Sabha seats and 10 assembly constituencies.
The Kairana bypoll will see a joint opposition taking on the ruling BJP. The constituency fell vacant after the death of BJP MP Hukum Singh, whose daughter Mriganka Singh is now the party's candidate for the bypoll. She is fighting Rashtriya Lok Dal's (RLD) Tabassum Hasan, who is supported by the Congress, Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party.
The opposition hopes that by consolidating anti-BJP votes, they will repeat the success of the Gorakhpur and Phulpur Lok Sabha by-elections, where the ruling party suffered an unexpected defeat.
The ruling BJP, on the other hand, is making extra efforts to retain the seat to try and send a strong message to voters, party cadres as well as the opposition parties -- that the drubbing in the Gorakhpur and Phulpur bye-elections was an aberration, and that it was still strong in western UP.
All four major parties in Maharashtra -- the Congress, BJP, Shiv Sena and the NCP -- have pulled out all stops for the Lok Sabha by-poll as the outcome is likely to have a bearing on their future course.
The Shiv Sena has fielded late BJP MP Chintaman Wanaga's son Shriniwas Wanaga in Palghar, much to the dislike of the BJP which has in-turn nominated Congress deserter Rajendra Gavit.
The by-poll in Palghar was necessitated due to the death of sitting BJP MP Chintaman Wanaga in January this year.
In Bhandra-Gondia, Nana Patole quit as the BJP MP and resigned from the ruling party to return to the Congress earlier this year, necessitating the by-election.
The BJP is confident of retaining the two seats while the opposition feels setbacks to the ruling party in the by-poll would boost the vigour of the 'anti-BJP camp' and lead to new alignments in state politics.
The ruling party has locked horns with the NCP for retaining the Bhandara-Gondia Lok Sabha seat while in Palghar, it is in a direct fight with the ally Shiv Sena even though the contest is multi-cornered.
In Nagaland capital Kohima, Chief Electoral Officer Abhijit Sinha said that all arrangements had been made for the peaceful conduct of the by-poll to the lone Lok Sabha seat in the northeastern state.
The by-poll is a straight contest between ruling Peoples Democratic Alliance (PDA) candidate Tokheho Yepthomi and opposition NPF nominee C Apok Jamir.
The Lok Sabha by-poll was necessitated following the resignation of Neiphiu Rio from the Lok Sabha to contest the Nagaland Assembly election in February. Rio is presently the chief minister of the state.
The assembly by-polls will take place in Maharashtra (Palus Kadegaon constituency), Uttar Pradesh (Noorpur), Bihar (Jokihat), Jharkhand (Gomia and Silli), Kerala (Chengannur), Meghalaya (Ampati), Punjab (Shahkot), Uttarakhand (Tharali) and West Bengal (Maheshtala).
The counting of votes will take place on May 31.
(with input from agencies)