The voter turnout was 57.73 in Mandi Lok Sabha seat and 66.2, 64.97 and 78.75 per cent in Fatehpur, Arki and Jubbal-Kotkhai assembly seats respectively.
Mandi Lok Sabha constituency has 12,99,756 voters, Fatehpur 87,222, Arki 92,609 and Jubbal-Kotkhai assembly constituency has 70,965 eligible voters. An official said that 2,484 polling stations and 312 auxiliary polling stations were set up for the bypolls.
Around 1900 voters of three panchayats of Kinnaur district boycotted the Mandi by-election in protest against the construction of Jangi Thopan Powari Hydroelectric Project.
1,080 voters of Rarang Panchayat, more than 500 from Jangi Panchayat and 298 voters of Akpa Panchayat also boycotted the bypolls. Villagers also boycotted the Mandi bypolls in protest against the poor condition of roads in their areas under four polling booths of Runupu, Khori, Sharan and Jarashi in Shimla district.
Rampur Sub-Divisional Magistrate-cum-Assistant Electoral Officer Yadvendra Pal told PTI that not a single voter exercised his franchise at Ranupu, Khori and Sharan polling stations, while only six voters at Jarashi polling stations cast their votes. Put it
The opposition Congress sent a complaint to the Election Commission alleging violation of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) against the BJP MLA from Bharmour and demanded re-polling at the Mandi polling station.
Shimla (Rural) MLA Vikramaditya Singh, son of Congress candidate Pratibha Singh, told reporters that the complaint against the Bharmour MLA has been e-mailed to the commission by General Secretary of State Congress Legal Cell Pranay P Singh.
Pranay Singh in his complaint said that the BJP MLAs were standing inside the polling booth, which is in violation of the guidelines.
104-year-old Shyam Saran Negi, the first voter of independent India, casts his vote in the Mandi by-election at the Adarsh polling station at Kalpa in Kinnaur district.
The by-elections on these four seats were held due to the death of sitting MPs and MLAs. The counting of votes for all these seats will be done on November 2. Six candidates are in the fray for Mandi Lok Sabha seat and 12 candidates for three assembly seats.
Barring Jubbal-Kotkhai, all seats are expected to see a direct contest between the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress. In Jubbal-Kotkhai, rebel BJP candidate Chetan Singh Bragta is trying his luck as an independent. However, all eyes are on the by-election to Mandi seat as this constituency is the home constituency of Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur.
The BJP has fielded Kargil war hero Brigadier Khushal Singh Thakur against Congress candidate Pratibha Singh from Mandi. Pratibha Singh is the wife of former Chief Minister Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh.
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