Gujarat bypolls: 19 per cent voter turnout till noon

Around 19 per cent voter turnout was recorded till noon for the two Lok Sabha and four assembly seats in Gujarat, where by-elections are being held today amid tight security.
"Data received till 12 pm from all the constituencies where the by-poll is being held today suggests an average 18-19 per cent voter turnout," a state election official said.
The two Lok Sabha seats are Porbandar and Banaskantha, while the assembly seats are Dhoraji, Jetpur, Limbadi and Morva Hadaf.
Jetpur, Dhoraji and Limbadi assembly seats registered 23 per cent, 16 per cent and 35 per cent voting till 12 pm respectively, additional chief electoral officer Ashok Manek told PTI adding that Morva Hadaf (reserved for ST) assembly seat registered 30 per cent voter turn out.

For the two Lok Sabha seats of Banaskantha and Porbandar, 19 per cent and 14 per cent voters turnout was recorded in first five hours respectively, he said.
The voting began from 7 am and no untoward incident has been reported so far, the official added.

In view of the heat conditions, the Election Commission has extended the polling time for the by-elections. Voting will continue till 6 pm instead of usual 8 am to 5 pm.
Former Congress MP Vitthal Radadia and his son Jayesh, who joined BJP, will test the political waters from Porbandar Lok Sabha seat and Jetpur assembly seat respectively.

Elections were necessitated at Banaskantha Lok Sabha seat and Morva Hadaf following the deaths of MP Mukesh Gadhvi and MLA Savita Khant, both from Congress.
The by-polls in Gujarat are being viewed as test for the opposition Congress, ahead of the 2014 general elections, as the party had won all the six seats in last elections.
The counting will take place on June 5.