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UP bypolls: Adityanath, Akhilesh urge people to cast their votes
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav urged the people to go out and vote as nine assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh hold bypolls on Wednesday.
Voting is underway in Meerapur, Ghaziabad, Kundarki, Khair, Karhal, Sisamau, Katehari, Majhawan, and Phulpur.
In his social media message, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath called on the voters to support the uninterrupted development journey of the state.
"Appeal to the respected voters to vote to provide more speed and strength to the uninterrupted development journey of Uttar Pradesh. Vote unitedly to bring comprehensive and positive change in the lives of 25 crore residents of the state," he said in a Hindi post on X.
SP chief Akhilesh Yadav, in his appeal, encouraged people to cast their votes with their future and the values of the Constitution in mind.
"Voters of the nine assembly seats in UP where elections are being held are requested to go and cast their vote while remaining committed to their future and the Constitution," Yadav wrote on X in Hindi.
Voting commences for bypolls to four Punjab Assembly segments
Polling began amid tight security at 7 am on Wednesday for bypolls to four assembly segments in Punjab.
Bypolls to the Gidderbaha, Dera Baba Nanak, Chabbewal and Barnala assembly segments were necessitated after the incumbent lawmakers were elected to the Lok Sabha.
Among the key contestants in the fray are former Punjab finance minister Manpreet Singh Badal, Kewal Singh Dhillon, Sohan Singh Thandal and Ravikaran Singh Kahlon (BJP), Amrita Warring and Jatinder Kaur (Congress), and Hardeep Singh Dimpy Dhillon and Ishank Kumar Chabbewal (AAP).
Warring is the wife of the Congress' Punjab chief and Ludhiana MP Amrinder Singh Raja Warring. Jatinder Kaur is the spouse of Gurdaspur MP and former deputy chief minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa.
The Shiromani Akali Dal has not fielded candidates for the bypolls, the results of which will be announced on November 23.
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.