Voting begins for bypoll to Gurdaspur Lok Sabha seat in Punjab

Voting for Gurdaspur Lok Sabha byelection has begun. It will continue till 5 in the evening. Administration has made elaborate arrangements to conduct free and fair election. More than 10,000 security personnel from Punjab police and paramilitary forces have been deployed. Voter-verified paper audit trail (VVPAT) machines will be used for polling which allows voters to verify that their votes are cast as intended. 

Over 15 lakh voters including more than 7 lakh women will use their franchise to chose from among the Eleven candidates in the fray. The counting will take place on October 15.

The bypoll was necessitated following the death of the sitting MP Vinod Khanna in April this year. Main fight is between Bharatiya Janata Party candidate Swarn Salaria, Congress' Sunil Kumar Jakhar, who is the Punjab Congress President, and Aam Aadmi Party's Maj. Gen. Suresh Kumar Khajuria (retd).

Voting on Gurdaspur Parliamentary constituency started on exact time, Still there is no rush at the polling booths but the number of voters are expected to increase as the day rises. There are 9 assembly constituencies under Gurdaspur Parliamentary constituency which falls in Pathankot and Gurdaspur districts. 

These



include Pathankot, Dina Nagar, Kadian, Batala, Fatehgarh Churrian, Dera Baba Nanak, Gurdaspur, Sujanpur and Bhoa. Approx 15 lakh voters are going to decide the fate of 11 candidates in the fray. 

Total 1781 booths are made from which 25 booths of Pathankot and 75 booths of Gurdaspur are declared critical. Special Para military forces and Camera teams have been deployed on them. Due to the security reasons the borders with the adjoining states Himachal and Jammu Kashmir have been sealed and BSF is keeping a strict vigil on Indo Pak international border also. 

It is important to mention here that Election Commission of India has allowed the use of alternative identity card for the voters of Gurdaspur . 

Those who are not having the voter ID card can exercise their franchise using alternative documents including Aadhaar card, passport, driving licence or service ID cards with photograph issued by central or state governments or public sector undertakings. 

The election commission has also allowed bank or post office passbooks with photographs, PAN card, MGNREGA job card, health insurance smart card, pension documents and authenticated voter slips to be used as identity proof.