The Jubbal-Kotkhai assembly seat in Himachal Pradesh witnessed highest voter turnout of over 27 per cent while the Mandi Lok Sabha seat saw the lowest polling at over 19 per cent till 12 pm as voting for the bypolls to four seats in Himachal Pradesh began on Saturday, officials said.
Voting for the by-elections to Mandi Lok Sabha and Arki, Fatehpur, and Jubbal-Kotkhai assembly seats began at 8 am, they said.
Mandi Lok Sabha seat recorded 19.78 percent voting between 8 am and 12 pm, while the turnout in Fatehpur, Arki and Jubbal-Kotkhai was 22.27, 24.02 and 27.85 per cent respectively, they said.
The voting began on a slow pace but is gaining momentum, an election official said.
A total of 12,99,756 voters for Mandi Lok Sabha, 87,222 for Fatehpur, 92,609 for Solan (Arki) and 70,965 voters for Jubbal-Kotkhai Vidhan Sabha seats may exercise their right to franchise till 6 pm.
According to officials, 2,484 polling stations and 312 auxiliary polling stations have been set up for bypolls.
The by-elections were necessitated following the death of sitting members.
Meanwhile, tight security arrangements have been made for the smooth conduct of the by-elections.
State Chief Electoral Officer C Palrasu informed that 50 per cent of the polling stations will be connected through webcasting. This facility will be available in 1,383 of the total 2,796 polling stations, he added.
The counting of votes for all seats will be held on November 2.
A total of 18 candidates are in the fray, including 12 for the three assembly seats and six for the Mandi Lok Sabha seat.
A direct contest is expected between the ruling BJP and Congress on all seats except Jubbal-Kotkhai where rebel BJP candidate Chetan Singh Bragta is trying his luck as an independent candidate.
However, all eyes are on the Mandi parliamentary bypoll as the constituency is the home turf of Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur.
The BJP has fielded Kargil war hero Brigadier Khushal Singh Thakur from Mandi against Congress candidate Pratibha Singh, the wife of late chief minister Virbhadra Singh.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Union Minister Ravneet Bittu Elected Unopposed To Rajya Sabha From Rajasthan In Bypoll Union Minister George Kurian Files Nomination For Rajya Sabha Bypolls Haryana BJP Leader Kiran Choudhry Set To Be Elected Unopposed To Rajya Sabha 8 Dead, 2,750 Hurt As Pagers Explode Across Lebanon, Hezbollah Blames Israel Video: Leopard Spotted Crossing Road In Bengaluru's Electronic City IndiGo Flight Tailstrike Leaves Huge Dent During Take-Off From Delhi Airport Norway Now Has More Electric Cars Than Petrol Models, 1st In The World "Wear Proper Undergarments": Delta Airlines' New Memo For Flight Attendants Heavy Rain In Delhi, Nearby Areas Causes Waterlogging, Traffic Jams Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.