Prestige battle for MVA, BJP: Voting underway for Kasba, Chinchwad assembly by-polls in Maharashtra

Voting for the bypolls to Kasba and Chinchwad Assembly seats in Maharashtra's Pune district began at 7 am on Sunday, according to election officials.

The bypolls in Kasba and Chinchwad were necessitated due to the death of their respective Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLAs Mukta Tilak and Laxman Jagtap.

In Chinchwad, the district election authorities welcomed early voters by laying 'rangoli' (colourful patterns) and offering roses. In the Kasba constituency also voters were seen exercising their franchise in the morning.

District election authorities said adequate security arrangements were made in both the constituencies in view of the polling.

"Necessary arrangements have been made at all the polling stations and I appeal to all the voters to come out and exercise their franchise without any fear," said Sachin Dhole, the election officer for Chinchwad constituency.

In the Kasba Assembly seat in Pune city, there is a contest between the BJP's Hemant Rasane and Congress's Ravindra Dhangekar, who is supported by the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance of the Congress, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray).

In Chinchwad, an industrial township near Pune city, the contest is between Ashwini Jagtap of the BJP and Nana Kate of the NCP.
There are 510 polling centres and 5,68,954 registered voters in Chinchwad and 215 polling centres and 2,75,428 registered voters in Kasba constituency.

Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis, NCP chief Sharad Pawar and party leader Ajit Pawar, state Congress president Nana Patole, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray and others campaigned in both constituencies over the last 10 days.

Congress candidate Dhangekar on Saturday went on a hunger strike after alleging the BJP distributed money to voters. He ended the strike after police assured they would investigate the matter.

Earlier on Thursday, Uddhav Thackeray directed his party workers to support the candidates of their MVA allies, asserting that the BJP was its main political rival.

Although, Thackeray himself did not join the campaign, his son Aaditya Thackeray held a roadshow in Pune.Counting will take place on March 2.