Uttarakhand bypolls: 26.99% polling in Manglaur, 21.20% in Badrinath till 11 am

Dehradun: A voter turnout of 26.99 per cent was recorded in Manglaur assembly bypoll and 21.20 per cent in Badrinath assembly bypoll in Uttarakhand till 11 am on Wednesday, officials said.

Voting began at 8 am and will go on till 6 pm, they said.

The Manglaur bypoll was necessitated by the death of sitting BSP MLA Sarwat Karim Ansari in October last year. The Badrinath seat fell vacant after sitting Congress MLA Rajendra Bhandari resigned and switched to the BJP in March this year.

In Manglaur assembly constituency in Haridwar district, some people were injured as workers of two political parties clashed with each other at a polling booth.

Roorkee Civil Line Kotwali in-charge R K Saklani told PTI that a report was received about the clash between workers of two parties at booth number 53-54 in Libbarheri in Manglaur.

Some people were injured in the clash and they have been sent to the hospital, he said.

Some reports claimed there was firing at the booth. However, police denied the reports.

Purported videos of the clash on social media showed Congress candidate Qazi Nizamuddin taking a man in bloodstained clothes to the hospital. He accused the BJP of throttling democracy by sowing seeds of hatred.

Haridwar district magistrate and senior superintendent of police have rushed to the spot.

The BSP has fielded Ansari's son Ubedur Rehman against Nizamuddin in Manglaur.

Gujjar leader and BJP nominee Kartar Singh Bhadana is also in the fray from the Muslim and Dalit-dominated constituency which has been held either by the BSP or the Congress in the past.

In Badrinath, there is a direct contest between BJP's Rajendra Bhandari and Congress newcomer Lakhpat Singh Butola.

The other two candidates in the fray in Badrinath are former CRPF officer Himmat Singh of the Sainik Samaj Party and Naval Khali, a journalist who is contesting as an Independent candidate.

Votes for the bypolls will be counted on July 13.