Himachal by-poll: Over 52 per cent polling recorded

Shimla: Nearly 52 per cent electorate of sixteen out of seventeen Assembly segments on Sunday exercised their franchise for the Mandi Lok Sabha bypoll which passed of peacefully.

The electorate of rain ravaged Kinnaur constituency would cast their votes on June 27 and counting of votes would take place on June 30. The polling passed off peacefully and no untoward incident was reported from any part of the sprawling constituency, spread over six out of twelve districts of the state. Narinder Chauhan, Chief Electoral Officer said the polling started on a dull note and 13.79 per cent voting was registered till 10 AM which picked in the afternoon and final figure crossed 52 per cent. The highest polling of 66 per cent was recorded in Seraj constituency while lowest 41 per cent was registered in Kullu Assembly segment. About 5.40 lakh voters out of total electorate of 10.30 lakh cast their votes and polling was over 52 per cent against 61 per cent in 2009 polls. The seat was vacated following resignation of Virbhadra Singh after he was elected to Vidhan Sabha and resigned from Lok Sabha in January, 2013. Singh, his wife Pratibha Singh, the Congress candidate for Mandi Lok Sabha seat and their son Vikramaditya cast their vote at Rampur while the BJP candidate Jai Ram cast his vote in Mandi district. The polling in Kinnaur segment was deferred to June 27 and counting of votes was rescheduled for June 30 and as consequence the restriction on dissemination of exit polls was extended till 5 PM of June 27 till the end of voting in Kinnaur. PTI