Live: Voting begins for bypolls on 5 Assembly, 1 LS seats in Bengal, Assam and 2 more

Voting began at 7 am on Tuesday amid tight security arrangements for byelections in Madurantakam and Dharapuram reserved Assembly constituencies in Tamil Nadu, acccording to officials.

The electoral exercise on the two seats was necessitated due to the resignation of then AIADMK MLAs K Maragatham Kumaravel and P Satyabama from Madurantakam (Chengalpet dt) and Dharapuram (Tiruppur dt) before they joined the ruling TVK led by Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay. They have been re-nominated. DMK and AIADMK are in the contest for both seats.

Polling began at 7 am on Tuesday for byelections to the Nandigram and Rejinagar Assembly constituencies in West Bengal. Voting is taking place amid tight security arrangements, officials said.

Altogether, 71 companies of central security forces have been deployed for the bypolls, they added.

The twin contests are being viewed as an early chance for the BJP to gauge voter response to its governance since taking office in May, while opposition parties vie for space in a fragmented field.

Voting for byelections in one Lok Sabha and four Assembly constituencies across Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Assam and Puducherry commenced at 7 am this morning and is slated to continue till 6 pm.