Krishna Patel of the BJP and Ramaben Patel of Congress are the candidates in the fray for the seat. Counting will take place at the Purush Adhyapan Mandir, Karelibaug on Friday and results are expected to be out by afternoon, according to official sources.

Sources said this was possibly the lowest polling in the civic poll. Out of 29,086 voters, only 4,057 exercised their franchise.

The polling in 18 booths located in Karelibaug began on a dull note with only 2.80 per cent voters casting their vote from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m., 5.63 per cent from 10 a.m. to noon, 8 per cent from noon to 2 p.m. and 11.53 per cent from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.

As anticipated, the election received a poor response as it coincided with Diwali and the voters were apparently not interested as it was a by-poll.

The seat has fallen vacant following disqualification of BJP councillor Devika Patel for not attending General Board meetings without seeking prior permission.

Although no complaints have been lodged at the Karelibaug Police Station, members of both the parties have alleged that bogus voting took place. Mayor Bharati Vyas said they rushed to the Muk Badhir Kendra following complaints of bogus voting. Following requests, the police is believed to have put up additional bandobast.

At Sahyognagar nearly 200 voters were not allowed to vote as their names were not in the voting list. Their names, however, figured in the list prepared by the Congress.

Congress leader Maulin Vaishnav alleged that mobile phones provided by the VMC to BJP office-bearers were being misused.

Both the candidates had contested the reserved seat and lost. They had concentrated on door-to-door campaigning and group meetings.

While Ramaben had lost the 1995 election by a margin of over 200 votes, Krishna had lost the 1987 election. Sources say with not much to choose from, the parties have given tickets to the long-time loyalists.

While the BJP highlighted achievements at the national, state and local levels, the Congress is reminded the electorate of the BJP Government's failure to control groundnut oil and onions prices.

The sources claimed both candidates made every possible attempt to cash in on their close connections with Shri Jalaram Sevashram Trust, an NGO doing social work.