High turnout marks Maharashtra bypolls

Polling for by-elections in three assembly and one Lok Sabha constituency in Maharashtra was held on Saturday amid tight security.

Around 60 per cent voters exercised their franchise in the by-election to the Vengurla, Sangmeshwar and Rajapur assembly constituencies in Konkan region. About 48 to 50 per cent votes were cast in the by-election to Sangli Lok Sabha constituency, Chief Electoral Officer of Maharashtra U P S Madan told PTI.

Of the three assembly seats, Sangmeshwar recorded the highest voter turnout of around 65 per cent, he said, adding that in Rajapur and Vengurla constituencies, the polling percentage was around 60 and 55 per cent respectively.

The polling was peaceful, Madan said.  

The assembly bypolls were necessitated following the resignation of three Shiv Sena legislators, who quit the assembly and followed former Shiv Sena leader Narayan Rane into the Congress.

All three, Shankar Kambli (Vengurla), Subhash Bane (Sangmeshwar) and Ganpat Kadam (Rajapur) are contesting as Congress nominees.

By-election for Sangli Lok Sabha constituency was necessitated by the death of Congress parliamentarian Prakash Patil. His son Prateek is contesting the bypoll as a Congress nominee against Bharatiya Janata Party's Deepak Shinde Mhaisalkar.