Chhattisgarh bypoll: 64.86 pc voter turnout in Bhanupratappur Assembly seat

A voter turnout of 64.86 per cent was recorded on Monday in the bypoll to Bhanupratappur Assembly constituency in Chhattisgarhs Kanker district, a poll official here said.The figure is provisional as reports from some polling booths located in sensitive locations were yet to be received, he said.Polling began at 7 am amid tight security and concluded at 3 pm. Twenty three polling booths were recognised as politically sensitive, he added.

A voter turnout of 64.86 per cent was recorded on Monday in the bypoll to Bhanupratappur Assembly constituency in Chhattisgarh's Kanker district, a poll official here said.

The figure is provisional as reports from some polling booths located in sensitive locations were yet to be received, he said.

Polling began at 7 am amid tight security and concluded at 3 pm. No untoward incident was reported in the constituency during the polling process which was by and large peaceful, the official said.

Seven candidates contested the bypoll in the constituency, reserved for the Scheduled Tribes, though it was largely seen as a direct contest between the ruling Congress and the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

BJP candidate Brahmanand Netam and Congress nominee Savitri Mandavi cast their votes in Kaswahi and Telgara polling booths respectively.

The byelection was necessitated due to the death of Congress MLA and state Assembly's Deputy Speaker Manoj Singh Mandavi after a heart attack on October 16.

The Congress fielded his wife in the bypoll.

Sarva Adivasi Samaj, an umbrella body of tribal communities in Bastar, also fielded its candidate, former Indian Police Service Officer Akbar Ram Korram, who contested as an independent. The counting of votes will take place on December 8.

According to poll officials, 1,95,822 voters were eligible to exercise their franchise, including 95,266 men, 1,00,555 women and one third gender person.

A total of 256 polling stations were set up, of which 82 were recognised as 'sensitive' and 17 as 'hypersensitive' in view of the area being Maoist-affected, a poll official said. Twenty three polling booths were recognised as 'politically sensitive', he added.