Polling began at 7 am on Thursday for the assembly by-elections in Baramati and Rahuri in Maharashtra, with voting set to continue till 6 pm, officials said.
In Baramati, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Pawar is contesting amid a sympathy wave following the death of her husband, Ajit Pawar, in an air crash earlier this year. A total of 23 candidates are in the fray in the constituency, which has over 3.84 lakh registered voters.
In Rahuri, BJP’s Akshay Kardile is contesting against NCP (SP)’s Govind Mokate and Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi’s Santosh Chalke. The bypoll was necessitated following the death of BJP MLA Shivaji Kardile last year.
The Maharashtra Assembly has 288 seats, with the ruling Mahayuti alliance holding a comfortable majority.
(With inputs from PTI)