By IANS,
Gandhinagar : Elaborate security arrangements are being made in Gujarat to ensure violence free by-elections to seven assembly seats Sep 10.
A state home department official said heavy security was necessary in view of the violence between the workers of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress in Godhra and Junagadh towns during the April-May Lok Sabha elections.
The security arrangements for the by-polls would be as stringent as during the Lok Sabha polls with the deployment of personnel of central paramilitary forces and Rapid Action Force, he added.
The byelections are being held in assembly constituencies of Chotila, Jasdan, Dhoraji, Kodinar, Dehgam, Sami Harij and Danta. A majority of these seats were vacated by sitting MLAs who contested the Lok Sabha elections and won.
In case of the Chotila assembly constituency in the Saurashtra region, the Congress MLA had died early this year. In Sami Harij in north Gujarat the sitting Congress MLA had resigned and contested the Lok Sabha polls on a BJP ticket but was defeated.
The filing of nominations for the seven assembly seats ended Aug 24. The scrutiny of the nominations was done Tuesday. The last day for withdrawal of nominations is Thursday.