Jalpaiguri (WB), Sept 8 (PTI) Counting of votes began at 8 am on Friday for the by-election to the Dhupguri assembly seat in West Bengal's Jalpaiguri district amid tight security, officials said.

The polling for the by-election was held on September 5. A voter turnout of 78 per cent was recorded, they said.

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The counting was being held at the Jalpaiguri II campus of the North Bengal University.

"The counting of votes began at 8 am. There is a three-tier security around the venue of the counting," an election official said.

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The bypoll was necessitated by the death of BJP MLA Bishnu Pada Ray on July 25.

The ruling TMC has fielded college professor Nirmal Chandra Roy, while the BJP has nominated Tapasi Roy, the widow of a CRPF jawan killed in a terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir in 2021. The CPI(M) has fielded folk singer Ishwar Chandra Roy, and the Congress supported him.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)