Agartala, Apr 9 Voting for the by-election to the Dharmanagar Assembly constituency in North Tripura district began at 7 am on Thursday amid tight security, an official said.
A total of 46,142 voters will decide the fate of six candidates in the by-election.
Female voters (23,758) outnumber the male electorate (22,348).
"Polling for the by-election in all 55 booths began at 7 am amid tight security. Voters were seen standing in queues at various polling centers to exercise their democratic right," returning officer Debjani Choudhury said.
She said that webcasting has been ensured in all the booths apart from EVMs with VVPATs to maintain complete transparency during the voting process.
"An elaborate security arrangement has been made to ensure free, fair, and violence-free voting. In view of a possible cyclone between April 8 and 10, adequate shelters have been set up at all booths," she added.
The by-election is expected to witness a multi-party contest, with all three major parties – BJP, Left Front, and Congress – contesting separately.
The by-election was necessitated following the death of Assembly speaker Biswa Bandhu Sen of the BJP in December last year.