Voting begins for Baroda bypoll

Polling for the Baroda bypoll began in Haryana on Tuesday. The polling started at 7 am and will continue till 6 pm, officials said.

A total of 1.81 lakh eligible voters will decide the fate of 14 candidates, including Olympian wrestler and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) nominee Yogeshwar Dutt, in the fray for the bypoll.

The Baroda seat fell vacant in April after the demise of Congress MLA Krishan Hooda, who had won the seat in the 2009, 2014 and 2019 Assembly polls.

A total of 280 polling booths have been set up, of which 151 have been categorised as “vulnerable”.

Security personnel, including three companies of paramilitary force, have been deployed to ensure a peaceful bypoll, the officials said.

Voters will be screened through thermal scanners at each polling booth and physical distancing will be ensured at the polling stations.

Hand sanitiser, masks and gloves would be made available at the polling stations, the officials said.

The ruling BJP has fielded wrestler-turned-politician Dutt.

The opposition Congress has fielded former Sonipat Zila Parishad member Indu Raj Narwal and the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) has put its money on Joginder Singh Malik.