India, July 30 -- Voting began at 7 a.m. Thursday for the by-election in Madhya Pradesh's Datia assembly constituency, where BJP's Ashutosh Tiwari and Congress' Ghanshyam Singh are locked in a direct contest, officials said.

Polling will continue until 6 p.m., with 2,20,344 voters eligible to cast their ballots to decide the fate of 21 candidates.

According to Election Commission officials, 291 polling stations have been set up across the constituency, including 186 in rural areas and 105 in urban areas. The electorate comprises 1,16,088 men and 1,04,246 women.

"Voting started peacefully and in an orderly manner at all polling stations at the scheduled time under the Datia assembly by-election 2026," said Swapnil Wankhede, collector an...