Andheri East bypoll: Nearly 17 pc voter turnout recorded till 1 pm

Mumbai: A voter turnout of 16.89 per cent was recorded in the Andheri East Assembly byelection in Mumbai till 1 pm on Thursday, an official said.

Polling for the byelection, which started at 7 am, will continue till 6 pm. The process is underway at 256 polling booths in the constituency.

"Till 1 pm, 16.89 per cent voters cast their votes," returning officer Prashant Patil told reporters.

This is the first Assembly election in Maharashtra after the Uddhav Thackeray-helmed Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government collapsed in June this year following a revolt by Shiv Sena MLAs led by Eknath Shinde.

Shinde subsequently became chief minister in alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Rutuja Latke, the candidate of the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena, is expected to win comfortably in the byelection after the BJP withdrew its nominee last month. The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Congress have supported Latke's candidature.

There are a total of seven candidates in the fray. Barring Latke, all are independents.

The election was necessitated due to the death of sitting Shiv Sena MLA Ramesh Latke, Rutuja Latke's husband, in May this year.

There are 2,71,502 registered voters in the constituency.

Counting of votes will be held on November 6.