Bypolls In Jind And Ramgarh: Voting is underway to the Jind assembly constituency
Voting began in Haryana's Jind Assembly constituency today, to elect their legislator and indicating about the coming Lok Sabha and assembly elections in the state. Over 1.72 lakh registered voters are set to exercise their franchise in Jind. Voting began at 7 am and will continue till 5.00 pm, with result will be declared on Thursday. A total of 21 candidates are in the fray for the polls.
Over 3,000 Haryana Police personnel and para-military forces have been stationed in the constituency.
Congress candidate Randeep Surjewala, Dr Krishna Middha from BJP, Yash Singh from INLD and Digvijay Chautala from JJP are the main candidates.
Ramgarh constituency in Rajasthan's Alwar district will also witness a triangular contest among candidates of ruling Congress, opposition BJP and BSP today when polling takes place at 278 polling booths. It could not be held along with other 199 constituencies on December-7 due to the death of BSP candidate Laxman Singh.
The BSP has fielded former union minister Natwar Singh's ex-MLA son Jagat Singh, while former Alwar Zila Pramukh Shafia Zubair Khan is contesting as a Congress candidate. Former Pradhan Sukhwant Singh is the BJP candidate.
278 polling booths have been set up in the constituency that has 2 lakh 35625 voters eligible voters.
The by-election is a test for all the four major parties in the fray - the ruling BJP, the Congress, the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) and the newly formed Jannayak Janata Party (JJP).
Here are the LIVE updates of the ongoimng by polls in Jind and Ramgarh:
A total of 68.74 per cent of votes were cast on Monday in the Ramgarh Assembly constituency in Rajasthan till 3 PM (news agency IANS)
On the prospect on winning the by-poll, Senior Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala said: "Congress party is the only party who has a vision for Jind, a vision for new development and a vision for the creation of infrastructure."
"Jind will win this election, people will win if Congress wins," he added. People of Jind have chosen the development model over the division of caste and over the politics of hate and "rabid" division based on caste and religion, he further said.
29 % polling recorded in initial hours of Ramgarh polls in RajasthanTwenty-nine per cent turnout was recorded in the first few hours of the ongoing polls to the Ramgarh assembly constituency on Monday, officials said. "Polling started at 8 am. VVPAT machines at five booths were replaced during a mock poll drill and three were replaced after polling began," Returning Officer Pankaj Sharma said.
Nine area magistrates are also monitoring the election in the constituency.
As part of elaborate security arrangements to ensure smooth and peaceful conduct of polling, nearly 3,000 policemen have been put on duty, a senior police official said. Besides, 500 home guards and over 200 personnel drawn from the CRPF and the Rapid Action Force have also been deployed.
Additional police forces have been deployed at sensitive and highly-sensitive booths.
Jind assembly segment has been divided into 24 sectors, with six deputy superintendents of police being made in-charge to oversee security arrangements.
Voting Starts In Ramgarh Constituency 
Nearly 1.70-lakh people, including 80,556 women, are eligible to vote: Officials
"We've never had an overall development, so our main agenda is to elect someone who will focus on developing the entire area, save people from biased situations," a voter in Jind area said.
"Its my humble request to the people in Jind that they should actively participate in the elections and by elections by casting their votes and also motivate people around to use their franchise as well," Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar tweeted.
Congress leader Randeep Surjewala offers prayers at Somnath temple. He is the party candidate for the by-election to the legislative assembly constituency of Jind.
Despite the early morning chill, voters could be seen queued up at some of the polling stations. The voting started at 7 am and will continue till 5 pm.