69 pc polling till 5 pm in Shahkot Assembly constituency

There was no report of any violence during the polling, the official added.

"Sixty nine per cent polling has been recorded till 5 pm in Shahkot assembly constituency," Punjab Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) S Karuna Raju said. The polling has been peaceful, he added.

However, one person was caught by the security officials with a pistol at a polling booth, Raju said.

"I received information from the Jalandhar (Rural) SSP that one person was caught with a pistol at a polling booth," he said adding if the person found guilty then he could face action for the violation of model code of conduct and under provisions of the people's representation act.

Investigations in this matter were underway, he added.

Meanwhile, four voter-verified paper audit trail (VVPAT) and one control unit were replaced at polling booths after they malfunctioned during mock polling, the Punjab CEO said.

Polling to the Shahkot bypoll commenced at 7 am today. The state's ruling Congress is hoping to maintain its winning momentum while the opposition Akali Dal is trying to retain the seat. Voting will continue till 6 pm.

The Shahkot bypoll was necessitated by the demise of Akali MLA Ajit Singh Kohar in February this year.

The Congress has fielded Hardev Singh Laddi while Akali Dal has given ticket to Ajit Singh Kohar's son Naib Singh Kohar. The Aam Aadmi Party has nominated Rattan Singh Kakkar Kalan for the Shahkot bypoll.

While casting their votes, both Laddi and Kohar exuded confidence that they would win.

There was enthusiasm among the voters who were coming out to exercise their franchise in the morning. However, there were reports that some polling booths witnessed deserted look as voters did not venture out in the afternoon because of hot weather conditions.

As many as 1,72,676 voters, who are eligible for voting, will decide the fate of 12 candidates. There are 236 polling booths in the constituency, of which webcasting will be held at 103 stations.

On the Akali Dal's allegations about the movement of vehicles bearing registration number of other states, Raju said the concerned teams were following up the matter. But nothing had been substantiated yet, he said.

The Election Commission has deployed a total of 1,022 security personnel, including six companies of the Border Security Force, in Shahkot, an official said adding that 1,416 polling staff were deployed for the Shahkot bypoll.

The counting of votes will take place on May 31.

The electronic voting machines and VVPAT are being used at all the polling stations.

The Congress is eyeing to maintain its winning momentum while Akali Dal is striving to retain its pocket borough from where late Ajit Singh Kohar was elected five-times.

Aam Aadmi Party, which faced a humiliating defeat in the Gurdaspur Lok Sabha bypoll and civic polls, is desperately looking for the victory.

The Congress had won 77 seats in the 117-member Punjab Vidhan Sabha during 2017 Assembly polls while the Shiromani Akali Dal-BJP alliance had managed to win 18 seats. The AAP had won 20 seats while Lok Insaf Party had bagged two seats.