18 Aug :The by-elections to fill the 18 vacancies in the State Assemblies of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and Meghalaya are being held on Tuesday.
In Tamil nadu, brisk polling was reported in five Assembly constituencies in Bargur, Cumbum, Ilayankudi, Thondamuthur and Srivaikuntam where bypolls are being held.
As per the polling trends available till noon, Srivaikuntam recorded 45 per cent polling, with Cumbum and Ilayankudi registering 37 and 35 per cent, respectively, officials said.
Burgur with 33 per cent polling and Thondamuthur with 32 per cent were also witnessing brisk polling, officials said, adding no untoward incident was reported so far.
Polling for the by-elections for the five seats, boycotted by the principal opposition AIADMK and its two allies, were necessitated by the resignation or death of MLAs in these constituencies.
15 pc turnout in Karnataka by-poll
In Karnataka, about 15 per cent of an estimated 10.10 lakh electorate have cast their votes in the bye-elections for five assembly seats in Karnataka till 11:00 am, official sources said in Bangalore on Tuesday.
Ramanagar, Chennapatna and Chitapur witnessed brisk voting in the morning hours, while it was sedate in Govindarajanagar, where Housing Minister V Somanna is
contesting and in Kollegal. Somanna joined BJP after quitting Congress.Polling has remained incident free, police said.