Uttarakhand bypolls: Polling underway in Manglaur, Badrinath assembly seats

Dehradun: Voting for bypolls to Manglaur and Badrinath assembly constituencies is underway in Uttarakhand.

Polling began at 8 am on Wednesday and will go on till 6 pm, election officials here 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.

The BSP has fielded Ansari's son Ubedur Rehman against Congress nominee Qazi 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.