Polling on for one Lok Sabha and 31 assembly by-elections in seven states<br/><br/>Bye-polls to one Lok Sabha and 31 assembly seats spread across seven states are being held today amid tight security. The Election Commission has said that central police force personnel have been deployed in Assam, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh and Kerala.<br/><br/>In Uttar Pradesh, voting will be beginning this morning for 12 constituencies including 11 Assembly and lone Firozabad Lok Sabah by election. As many as 177 candidates including 12 women are in the fray. The voting is being held from 0800 hrs to 0500 in evening while counting of votes would be taken up on 10th of this month.<br/><br/>Our Lucknow correspondent Sunil Shukla reports that Elaborate security arrangements have been made for by-elections and a total of 113 companies of security forces including 26 companies of the Central Para-military forces, 42 companies of the PAC and 45 companies of state armed police from West Bengal and Haryana have been deployed, to ensure free and fair polling.<br/><br/>Nearly 49 lakh voters would decide political fate of candidates. Nearly 1,900 polling stations have been identified as critical, where special security arrangements have been made along with deployment of micro observers and video cameras. A total of 2,300 micro observers and 21 central observers have been appointed by the Election Commission. In Firozabad, the Election Commission has deployed five central observers to oversee the election process.<br/><br/>Our correspondent reports that ruling BSP, SP and congress have fielded their candidates in all 12 constituencies while BJP has left two seats Issuali and Bharthana seats. Besides major political parties of the state others parties including NCP in 4 constituencies, CPI 3 and JDU in 2 constituencies have also fielded their candidates.<br/><br/>Polling is taking place for Firozabad Lok Sabha seat where Congress' politician-turned-actor Raj Babbar is pitched against SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav's daughter-in-law Dimple.<br/><br/><br/> In West Bengal, by elections for 10 Assembly seats covering seven districts of the State has begun this morning amidst tight security. <br/> <br/><br/>In Kerala, polling has begun in the assembly constituencies of Kannur, Ernakulam and Alappuzha. 3,90,207 voters will decide the fate of 35 candidates who are in the fray in the three constituencies.<br/><br/>Out of 360 polling stations set up for the bypolls, 87 have been identified as sensitive. Security measures have been stepped up in all the constituencies, particularly in Kannur, which was recently in the thick of a controversy over alleged attempts to include voters from outside in the voters list. Besides local police, three companies of paramilitary force have been deployed in Kannur. In Ernakulam and Alappuzha, two companies of Karnataka police besides state police personnel are on security duty.<br/><br/>The by-polls to the three assembly constituencies were necessitated due to the election of the sitting MLAs to the Parliament in the last general elections.<br/>