Bypolls: High turnout in most of the 29 assemblies and 3 Lok Sabha seat

New Delhi: A turnout of 50 percent to 90 percent was recorded in three Lok Sabha and 29 assembly constituencies spread across 13 states during by-elections on Saturday, with INLD leader Abhay Chautala, who quit the Haryana assembly in protest against the new farm laws, and Congress' Pratibha Singh, wife of late chief minister Virbhadra Singh, among the prominent candidates in the fray.

The voting passed off peacefully and it was ensured that all COVID-19 safety measures were followed, officials said.

In Himachal Pradesh, Mandi Lok Sabha seat from where Pratibha Singh is contesting saw a turnout of 57.73 percent. She was pitted against BJP's Khushal Singh Thakur, a Kargil war hero who is trying his luck at the hustings for the first time.

The Mandi seat fell vacant after the death of Ramswaroop Sharma (BJP) in March.

The polling percentage in Fatehpur, Arki and Jubbal-Kotkhai was 66.2, 64.97 and 78.75 respectively. The by-election in Himachal Pradesh are crucial as assembly polls are due in the state early next year.

Besides the three assembly seats in HP, by-polls were held in five assembly seats in Assam, four in West Bengal, three each in Madhya Pradesh and Meghalaya, two each in Bihar, Karnataka and Rajasthan and one seat each in Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Maharashtra, Mizoram and Telangana.

Out of these, the BJP was holding around half a dozen seats, the Congress had nine, while the rest were with the regional parties.

The counting of votes will take place on November 2.