Saturday, November 19 2005 11:13 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Malwan (Maharashtra): Polling for the by-elections to Malwan Assembly constituency in Maharashtra, where Revenue Minister and Congress candidate Narayan Rane is facing Shiv Sena's Parshuram Uparkar, began amidst tight security this morning (Nov 19, 2005).

An estimated 1.32 lakh voters are eligible to exercise their franchise in the 158 polling stations in the constituency.

The by-elections was caused by the resignation of Rane from Shiv Sena after his expulsion from the party in July this year.

Rane has won Malwan Assembly seat four times in a row as a Shiv Sena nominee.

Considering the political significance of the elections, security has been beefed up to ensure peaceful polling.

Over 1800 police personnel, including those from neighbouring Gujarat, and 750 Government staff have been deployed for the polling duty, district administration sources said.