The crucial by-elections to four assembly and two parliamentary constituencies will take place on Sunday. Election Commission officials said all measures to ensure free and fair conduct of the elections are in place.Thirty-three lakh voters in the two parliamentary and four assembly seats will decide the fate of 33 candidates in the fray for the by-polls. Fifteen candidates are contesting from Banaskantha and Porbandar Lok Sabha seats, whereas 18 candidates are in fray from Dhoraji, Jetpur, Limbdi and Morva Hadaf (ST) assembly seats.Election Commission has extended the voting time by two hours due to the hot weather conditions. The voting will start at 7.00 am, instead of the usual time of 8.00 am, and  end at 6.00 pm instead of the regular time of 5.00 pm.CM Narendra Modi has not campaigned in the by-elections and entrusted the responsibility of winning the by-polls on his ministers and other elected representatives, but there is no doubt that the polls are an acid test of his popularity. BJP leaders are targeting a clean sweep in the by-polls, which would further bolster Modi’s claim for the BJP’s prime ministerial nomination in the 2014 LS election.

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