Voting for he assembly bypoll to Aruvikkara in Kerala began at 7 am on June 27, 2015, despite rains.
Voting began at 7 am for the assembly bypoll to Aruvikkara in Kerala which is witnessing a three-cornered contest with voters queuing up at polling booths despite rains.
The bypoll, necessitated following the death of former Speaker and Congress leader G Karthikeyan, is a crucial test for both the Fronts as the Assembly poll is only a year away.
A total of 152 polling booths have been set up in the constituency. Security personnel, including those from BSF, are posted at some sensitive booths to ensure smooth conduct of polling.
The campaign saw prominent leaders, including 92-year-old CPI-M veteran and opposition leader V S Achuthanandan and Chief Minister Oommen Chandy using strong words to attack each other in the run up to the polls.
UDF is banking on the "various welfare and development initiatives" of the four-year-old government while LDF and BJP attack the government on the solar and bar bribe scams and alleged corruptions in the PWD ministry.
For UDF, which came to power with a wafer thin majority of two MLA's in 2011 and is riding on the slogan of "development and care", the result is widely considered as a referendum on the performance of the government.
Congress, meanwhile, has nominated 33-year-old KS Sabarinath, son of the late Karthikeyan as its candidate.
LDF which is eyeing to capture the seat from Congress has fielded 66-year-old former assembly Speaker and minister M Vijayakumar (CPI-M) as its candidate.