Polling for by-elections to Shahdol Lok Sabha constituency and Nepanagar Assembly seats in Madhya Pradesh began this morning with over 15 per cent voter turnout registered till 9 AM in both seats, poll officials said.
The by-polls assume significance in the wake of the recent demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes by the Central government, and will be seen as the first major ground test for the ruling BJP.
Both the seats are reserved for Scheduled Tribes (ST) category.
In Shahdol Lok Sabha seat, nearly 15 per cent electorates exercised their franchise till 9 AM, a poll official said.
About 16 per cent polling was recorded in Nepanagar till 9 AM, he said, adding that polling was underway peacefully in the both constituencies.
A of total 17 candidates are in the fray for the Shahdol LS seat, while four are trying their luck for Nepanagar.
In Shahdol, total 16,00,787 voters, whereas in Nepanagar, 2,30,420 people can exercise their franchise.
While Congress has fielded Himadri Singh, daughter of former Union Minister Dalbir Singh and ex-MP Rajesh Nandini Singh, from Shahdol Lok Sabha seat, the BJP has given ticket to tribal leader Gyan Singh, who is a senior minister in Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan's cabinet from the reserved seat.
The Shahdol bypoll was necessitated due to death of BJP MP Dalpat Singh Paraste. In 2014, Paraste had wrested the seat from Congress's Rajesh Nandini Singh by a margin of over 2.14 lakh votes.
The present BJP candidate Gyan Singh had earlier won the Shahdol seat twice in 1996 and 1998.
In Nepanagar, Congress has reposed faith in tribal leader Antar Singh Barde, while BJP has fielded Manju Dadu, daughter of late MLA Rajendra Shyamlal Dadu, whose death caused by an accident, necessitated the by-poll to cash in on the sympathy vote.
Besides these prominent names, several other candidates have also filed their nominations for the by-polls.
The counting of votes will take place on November 22 and the entire poll process will be completed by November 24.
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