30 pc polling in Keshkal bypoll till 1300 hrs

Jagdalpur, Chhattisgarh, Feb 4 (UNI) An estimated 30 per cent polling was recorded till 1300 hrs in the bypoll to Keskhal Assembly constituency in the naxal-infested Bastar district of Chhattisgarh today.

Voting was on at all 150 polling stations amid tight security.

As many as 27 police companies have been deployed apart from a helicopter for aerial surveillance, Election Office sources said.

Nine of the 150 polling stations were identified as sensitive.

An electorate of 1.47 lakh would exercise their franchise in the bypoll necessitated due to the death of BJP legislator Mahesh Baghel in a road accident about four months back.

A total five candidates are in the fray, among whom the main contest is between the Congress candidate Buddhasan Markam and BJP's Sevak Ram Netam.

Meanwhile, an encounter between police and naxalites took place at Jugnar in Dhanora area. However, no casualty was reported during the encounter. Bomb and landmines were recovered from the spot.

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