Voting begins in Uttar Pradesh for bypolls to nine assembly seats

Voting began at 7 am on Wednesday for bypolls to nine assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh.

The constituencies going to the polls are Katehari, Karhal, Mirapur, Ghaziabad, Majhawan, Sisamau, Khair, Phulpur and Kundarki. The votes will be counted on November 23.

While eight seats fell vacant following the incumbent MLAs' election to the Lok Sabha, polling in Sisamau is being conducted due to Samajwadi Party lawmaker Irfan Solanki's disqualification from the assembly after his conviction in a criminal case.

This is the first electoral contest in the state after the Lok Sabha polls. The Congress is not contesting these bypolls and has lent support to the Samajwadi Party, its INDIA bloc ally. The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) is contesting on all nine seats.

According to the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), more than 34.35 lakh voters -- of whom 15.88 lakh are women -- are eligible to exercise their franchise.