Moderate to heavy polling in Himachal

Shimla, Nov 7 : Moderate to heavy polling was witnessed in the by-elections to Rohru and Jawali assembly constituencies in Himachal Pradesh Saturday, an official said.

"After a sluggish start, polling in both the constituencies picked up as the day progressed. Rohru witnessed around 65 percent polling, whereas Jawali saw around 70 percent polling," state's Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Anil Khachi told IANS.

He said the polling was peaceful in both the constituencies barring minor incidents.

In the 2007 assembly elections, Rohru and Jawali saw 69.24 percent and 73.39 percent polling, respectively.

The main contest is between the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress.

While the Rohru seat in Shimla district fell vacant after five-time former chief minister Virbhadra Singh (Congress) was elected to the Lok Sabha, the by-election in Jawali in Kangra district was necessitated when Rajan Sushant (BJP) won the Lok Sabha election.

The Congress had fielded former minister Sujan Singh Pathania against BJP's Baldev Raj Chaudhary in Jawali. BJP rebel Madan Sharma is also in the fray in Jawali as an independent.

From Rohru, the BJP has pitted Khushi Ram Balnatah against Manjit Singh of the Congress.

The BJP had fared well in the May general elections, winning three of the four Lok Sabha seats in the state.

The votes will be counted Nov 10.

--IANS