About 50 pc polling in peaceful MP byelection

Bhopal, Mar 8 (UNI) About 50 per cent polling was recorded today for the byelection in Gwalior (42 per cent) and Sidhi (ST) (50 per cent) Lok Sabha constituencies and Udaypura (52 per cent) Assembly seat in Madhya Pradesh.

Amidst tight security, polling began at 0730 hrs and concluded at 1630 hrs -- the key contest is between the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and main opposition Congress.

With the exception of stray incidents, polling was peaceful. A suspected naxal was killed at about 1515 hrs when the dynamite he was carrying exploded under a crude bridge near Churhat in Sidhi district, the police said.

The main opposition Congress complained to the Election Commission against the state's ruling BJP for ''misusing'' official machinery in Sidhi and Udaypura.

Voters of two polling centres in Karaira assembly segment in Shivpuri district boycotted polling for the Gwalior byelection to protest ''government apathy'' towards their land-related problems.

A total of 45 nominees are in the fray for the three constituencies having a combined electorate of 26.35 lakh spread over 2,749 booths where electronic voting machines were used.

Besides the district police and Home Guard personnel, the Central Reserve Police Force's 12 companies each were deployed in Gwalior and Sidhi, while five CRPF companies were deployed in Udaypura, State Election Office sources said.

Votes will be counted at the district headquarters on March 11.

In Gwalior, state Tourism and Sports Minister and a member of the Scindia clan Yashodhara Raje is the BJP candidate pitted in a 24-cornered contest with Mr Ashok Singh (Cong) as her main rival.

That constituency's electorate comprises 13.78 lakh voters, including 6.35 lakh women.

In the 2004 general election, 40.87 per cent voters exercised their franchise in Gwalior where Mr Ramsevak Gurjar (Cong) pipped Mr Jaibhan Singh Pawaiya (BJP) by more than 35,000 votes.

In Sidhi, which is Human Resource Development Minister Arjun Singh's native district, Mr Manik Singh (Cong) and the BJP's Kunwar Singh are pitted in a 13-cornered contest. The electorate comprises 10.90 lakh voters, including 5.22 lakh women. In 2004, the polling percentage was 42.18 and Mr Chandrapratap Singh (BJP) beat Mr Tilakraj Singh (Cong) by a margin of about 50,000.

Gwalior and Sidhi fell vacant as the incumbents were disqualified in the cash-for-query scam.

Eight nominees figured in Raisen district's Udaypura. Vidisha's BJP MP Rampal Singh's wife Shashi Prabha Singh is the BJP candidate and her main rival is Mr Saheb Singh Patel (Cong). The electorate comprises 1.67 lakh voters including 77,000 women.

In the 2003 BJP wave, Mr Rampal Singh vanquished Mr Prakashbhanu Sharma (Cong) by more than 19,000 votes.

Udaypura fell vacant due to Mr R Singh's resignation following his election to the Lok Sabha in the bypoll from Vidisha, which was earlier held by Mr Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who quit after becoming Chief Minister.

Campaigning in these constituencies was by and large peaceful.

UNI