Voting underway for Raipur City South bypoll in Chhattisgarh

Raipur, Nov 13 (PTI) Voting for the byelection to Raipur City South assembly constituency in Chhattisgarh was underway on Wednesday amid tight security.
    The seat fell vacant after sitting BJP legislator and former state minister Brijmohan Agrawal resigned following his election to the Lok Sabha from Raipur parliamentary constituency earlier this year.
    Polling began at 7 am and it will be held till 6 pm, a poll official here said.

    There are 2,71,169 electors, including 1,33,800 men, 1,37,317 women and 52 transgenders, in the assembly constituency, according to poll officials.
    As many as 30 candidates are in the fray for the bypoll, though it is largely seen as a direct contest between the ruling BJP and the opposition Congress.

    The BJP has fielded Sunil Kumar Soni, a former Raipur MP and mayor, while the opposition's nominee Akash Sharma, a young face, is president of the state Youth Congress unit.
    A total of 253 polling booths have been set up for the byelection and more than 1,000 security personnel have been deployed.


    The counting of votes will be held on November 23.

    In the state assembly elections held last year, BJP registered a landslide victory, winning 54 out of the 90 seats in the state, while the Congress won 35 seats and the Gondwana Gantantra Party bagged one seat.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)