By IANS
Raipur : Heavy voters turnout was recorded Saturday in the by-elections to the two assembly seats in Chhattisgarh that were earlier won by the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the Congress.
Nearly 68 percent voters exercised their right to franchise for the Khairagarh assembly by-poll in Rajnandgaon district while an estimated 55 percent polling was recorded for the Malkharoda seat in Bilaspur district.
Officials say except for minor incidence riggings at Malkharoda, polling was peaceful in both the constituencies.
Heavy security arrangements were made for smooth conduct of polls at 192 polling booths, including 60 polling centres that came under Maoist-infested area in Khairagarh where the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the opposition Congress were locked in a straight fight.
Heavy deployment of police personnel were made at 186 polling centres in Malkharoda, where the BSP was locked in triangular fight with the BJP and the Congress.
The election in Malkharoda was necessitated after the court disqualified BSP legislator Lalsai Khunte because he suppressed information regarding his conviction in a criminal case when he filed nomination papers in November 2003.
The party had fielded Khunte again as the court later acquitted him.
In Khairagarh, the election followed Congress legislator Devrat Singh's election to the Lok Sabha from Rajnandgaon in April this year. The results for the by-polls are to be announced June 5.