Jalpaiguri, Sep 5 (PTI) Voting for the by-election to Dhupguri assembly constituency in West Bengal's Jalpaiguri district began at 7 a.m. on Tuesday, amid elaborate security arrangements, an official said.

Over 2.6 lakh voters are eligible to exercise their franchise in the bypoll.

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Polling is taking place in 260 booths, of which 71 have been identified as sensitive, the official said.

CPI (M)'s Ishwar Chandra Roy is contesting as the candidate of the Congress-Left alliance, while the ruling TMC has fielded Nirmal Chandra Roy, a teacher by profession.

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The BJP has nominated Tapasi Roy, the widow of a CRPF jawan who died fighting terrorists in Kashmir a few years back.

The bypoll to the seat was necessitated by the death of its sitting BJP MLA, Bishu Pada Ray, earlier this year. Dhupguri, a scheduled caste-reserved seat, has nearly 50 per cent Rajbanshi people and 15 per cent minority population.

The BJP had snatched the constituency from the TMC in the 2021 assembly polls.

(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)