Kottayam, Sept 23: Voting in the by-election to the Pala Assembly constituency here began on Monday with nearly 24 per cent votes being cast by 11 a.m.
As many as 13 candidates are in the fray in the constituency having a total of 1,79,107 voters.
"At 11 a.m, 24.14 per cent votes have been cast. Till now, there are no untoward incidents in the constituency. Polling is going on smoothly," an Election Commission official from Kottayam district told PTI.
The by-election was necessitated due to the death of former Finance Minister and Kerala Congress (M) leader K M Mani, who had held the constituency for more than five decades.
While the ruling LDF has fielded its ally, NCP's leader, Mani C Kappan as its candidate in the constituency, Jose Tom Pulikunnel of Kerala Congress (M) is the candidate of the Congress-led UDF.
The BJP's Kottayam district president N Hari is the NDA candidate.
Among those who voted in the first couple of hours include the UDF candidate Pulikkunnel, LDF candidate Kappen and the family members of Mani, including his wife and son Jose K Mani, a Rajya Sabha member.
Kappen and Pulikunnel cast their votes at the Government Polytechnic School, Kanattupara, and Government LP School, Poovathode, respectively.
The results are expected to have a bearing on the future course of three major political fronts -- the LDF, the UDF and the BJP-led NDA -- in the southern state.
The Pala Assembly bypoll is seen as an acid test for the parties as victory would give a big boost to their prospects in the by-elections to five constituencies scheduled for October 21 in the state.
The bypoll which started at 7 a.m will conclude at 6 p.m.
During the bitter poll campaign, various issues including corruption, economic slowdown, the crisis in the farm sector and the Sabarimala temple women entry issue were raised by the parties.
While the LDF leaders raised the irregularities in construction of the flyover in Palarivattom in Kochi during the UDF rule, the UDF leaders alleged corruption in setting up infrastructure in the state using funds from Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB).
Both the ruling LDF and the opposition UDF were confident of winning the bypoll.
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