Counting of votes for by-polls to the Asansol Lok Sabha seat and the Ballygunge assembly segment in West Bengal began at 8 am on Saturday, amid tight security arrangements, an election official said.

Around 66.42 percent and 41.23 percent polling was recorded in the Asansol Lok Sabha constituency and the Ballygunge assembly seat, respectively, in the elections held on April 12. A total of 15 lakh voters were eligible to exercise their franchise in Asansol in Paschim Bardhaman district, while 2.5 lakh people could vote in south Kolkata's Ballygunge.

The by-elections were necessitated as Babul Supriyo resigned as the MP of Asansol after switching over to the TMC from the BJP, while state minister Subrata Mukherjee, who represented Ballygunge, died last year. The TMC fielded yesteryear actor Shatrughan Sinha in Asansol, which has a substantial Hindi-speaking population. The BJP nominated Asansol Dakshin MLA Agnimitra Paul.

The ruling Trinamool Congress has fielded Supriyo in Ballygunge, where he is pitted against BJP's Keya Ghosh and CPI(M)'s Saira Shah Halim. The Congress is also in the fray in both the seats.