Indira Nagar by-poll result on Thursday

PUDUCHERRY: The counting of votes polled in the October 13 Indira Nagar by-election will take place on Thursday.The counting will begin at 8 am at the Bharathidasan Government College for Women,and the result will be declared by 9.30 am. Official sources said the counting of postal votes would begin at 7.30 am.  The EVMs were kept in the strong rooms at the college amidst tight security.The counting was initially scheduled for October 17, but the Election Commission of India had postponed it to Oct 20.All India Namathu Rajyam Congress (AINRC) candidate Tamil Selvan, Congress candidate V Arumughan and AIADMK’s Suttukeni Baskaran are the main contestants.  Four more candidates- K Vaithianathan (BSP), R Shanmugham (Indiya Jananayaka Katchi), D Tamil Selvan (independent) and S Veeraraghavan (independent) are also in the fray.The by-poll was necessitated after Chief Minister N Rangasamy, who won from both Indira Nagar and Kadirkamam in the April 13 assembly polls, vacated the seat on June 25.An estimated 83.47 per cent of the total 29005 voters exercised their franchise on October 13.  The AINRC has 14 members in the 30-member Puducherry assembly. The Congress has 7, AIADMK 5, DMK 2 and independent 1.