Udupi:
Over 31 per cent of the 12.53 lakh voters exercised their franchise till 1 AM in the by-poll to the Udupi-Chikmagalur Lok Sabha seat, where ruling BJP is locked in a bitter contest with Congress and JDS.
Officials said polling began on a slow note at 8 AM and that over 31 per cent had cast their votes so far.
Of the total of 1633 polling stations, 231 have been categorised as hyper-sensitive and 788 sensitive. Extra police personnel have been posted in 77 Naxal-hit areas.
The by-poll was necessitated after D V Sadananda Gowda vacated his parliamentary seat following his elevation as Karnataka Chief Minister.
This is the second by-poll being held in the state after Mr Gowda assumed office.
BJP has fielded former Karakala MLA Sunil Kumar, while former minister K Jayaprakash Hegde is the Congress nominee and Bojegowda is the JDS candidate. A total of 14 candidates are in the fray.
The run up to the by-poll saw fierce campaigning by the three major parties, with Mr Gowda criss-crossing the constituency to ensure BJP retains the seat despite consistent attempts by former Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa to get himself reinstated ever since he was forced to demit office after the Lokayukta report on illegal mining indicted him.
Mr Yeddyurappa had recently said he would not ask the high command for Chief Ministership and it is 'a closed chapter.'
The former Chief Minister did not campaign for the by-poll, irked over the BJP high command turning down his demand for a "suitable position" in the state unit.
BJP had finished a poor third in the November 2011 Bellary by-poll, which saw former minister B Sreeramulu contesting as an independent and winning by a huge margin ahead of Congress.
Counting will be taken up on March 21.