By IANS,
Kolkata : Polling was slow but peaceful as around 20 percent of voters exercised their franchise in the first three hours of the byelection to the Kolkata South Lok Sabha constituency here Wednesday.
The constituency, which has elected West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee half a dozen times in a row, is all set to see a first-time MP. Banerjee resigned from the seat after winning the assembly by-election from Bhowanipore Sep 28.
Polling is being held under heavy security, with around 20,000 personnel deployed to prevent any untoward incident.
State Trinamool president and Minister Subrata Bakshi, who quit as a legislator from Bhowanipore to pave the way for his leader’s maiden entry into the assembly, has been rewarded by Banerjee with the party nomination for this bypoll.
The CPI-M has nominated the party’s student wing Students Federation of India general secretary Ritabrata Banerjee. There are three independents in the fray.