Assembly bypolls: Bawana records 45% voting, Nandyal 80%; Panaji, Valpoi see over 70%

New Delhi: Polling for four assembly seats in  Delhi, Goa and Andhra Pradesh ended peacefully amid tight security on Wednesday, media reports said. 

The voting for the by-polls were held in Bawana in Delhi, Nandyal in Andhra Pradesh, and Valpoi and Panaji in Goa. 

The Bawana seat was vacated after Aam Aadmi Party MLA Ved Prakash joined the Bharatiya Janata Party. In Panaji, Siddharth Kuncalienkar from BJP resigned, making way for Manohar Parrikar’s election as an MLA and in Valpoi, the by-polls were held after Vishwajit Rane resigned as a Congress MLA to be inducted in the Parrikar-led coalition government as a Health Minister. 

In Nandyal, the by-poll was necessitated after sitting MLA Bhuma Nagi Reddy passed away. Reddy had won the seat in 2014 as YSR Congress candidate but jumped over to the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) in 2016.

Bawana by-poll: 

Delhi's Bawana recorded a total voter turnout of 45 per cent, much lower than in the 2015 elections in the constituency, where AAP, BJP and Congress are locked in a triangular contest.

The polling ended at 6 pm officially, but those who had already queued up at the polling stations by then were allowed to exercise their franchise.
"The entire polling process went on peacefully and no untoward incident was reported from any part of the constituency in north-west Delhi," Chandra Bhushan Kumar, Chief Electoral Officer, Delhi said.

The officials conjectured that multiple elections taking place in the city in quick succession could be a factor for the low turnout in Bawana, adding that voter turnout was "generally low" in by-polls.

Eight candidates are in the fray for the by-poll. The counting of votes will take place on August 28. Voting was held in 379 polling stations across the constituency. 

BJP has fielded Ved Prakash who had won from the constituency in the 2015 elections as an AAP candidate. He had resigned from assembly membership and joined the BJP in March this year.

The AAP has fielded Ram Chandra, while Congress has put its bet on former three-time MLA from Bawana, Surendra Kumar.

Nandyal by-poll: 

A high voter turnout of about 80 per cent was today recorded in the by-election to Nandyal Assembly constituency in Kurnool district of Andhra Pradesh, where the ruling TDP and opposition YSR Congress (YSRC) are locked in a fierce battle.

A heavy turnout of voters was witnessed in Nandyal rural and Gospadu mandals in the segment with women outnumbering men, sources said.

In Nandyal town, about 70 per cent polling was reported.

Barring a face-off between supporters of the TDP and YSRC at a couple of places, the by-election passed off peacefully, a senior police official said.

For the first time, Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) was used in the by-election.

Though there are 15 candidates in the fray, the main fight is between the TDP and the YSRC.

Valpoi, Panaji bypoll: 

Nearly 75 per cent voting was recorded in two assembly constituencies, Panaji and Valpoi, in Goa with both the BJP and the Congress claiming victory in both seats.

In Valpoi, where Health Minister Vishwajit Rane is contesting against Congress` Roy Naik, 79.80 per cent voters cast a ballot, senior poll officer Kunal, told reporters late on Wednesday.

The poll was by and large peaceful barring one minor altercation in each constituency.

Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar expressed confidence of sweeping the Panaji by-poll, claiming that his opponents failed to get any traction from the voters.

"Voting percentage was low because the other side had no traction," Parrikar said, adding that he was confident of the party winning by a huge margin, both in Panaji and Valpoi. Parrikar also said, that around 98 per cent BJP voters had cast the ballot in both constituencies.

The Chief Minister said he was satisfied with the conduct of the poll authorities, but the Congress alleged that election officials were biased in favour of the ruling BJP.

(With PTI inputs)