More than 56 per cent of voters had exercised their franchise in the Nagaon Lok Sabha by-election in Assam till 1 pm on Tuesday, with polling remaining peaceful across the constituency, officials said.
As many as 56.35 per cent of the 19.05 lakh eligible voters had cast their ballots by 1 pm. Polling began at 7 am and will continue until 5 pm.
Laharighat recorded the highest turnout at 61.48 per cent, while Nagaon-Batadraba registered the lowest at 47.07 per cent.
"No untoward incident has been reported from any polling station in the eight assembly segments under the Lok Sabha constituency," an official said.
BJP candidate Devashis Sharma, a former IAS officer, voted at Mayong Higher Secondary School in the Jagiroad assembly segment.
Congress candidate and former MLA Sibamoni Bora cast her vote at Majgaon Primary School in Nagaon-Batadraba.
"Voters will elect a suitable candidate," Sharma told reporters after voting.
Bora expressed confidence that the Congress would retain the seat, alleging that the BJP and AIUDF were "the same entity".
Fifteen candidates are contesting the bypoll, though the main contest is expected to be between Sharma, Bora and AIUDF chief Badruddin Ajmal.
The by-election was necessitated after Congress MP Pradyut Bordoloi resigned from the Lok Sabha and successfully contested the Assam Assembly elections from Dispur on a BJP ticket earlier this year.
While the result will not alter the balance of power in Parliament, the bypoll is politically significant for the three major contenders. The BJP is seeking to make inroads into the Muslim-majority constituency, while the Congress is seeking to retain its minority support base. The AIUDF is looking to revive its influence after its tally fell to two MLAs from 16 in the April Assembly elections.
Authorities have deployed elaborate security arrangements, with 624 of the 2,312 polling stations identified as sensitive.
The electorate comprises 9.43 lakh women and 50 third-gender voters.
Counting of votes will be held on October 9.
(With inputs from PTI)
