Mumbai |Counting of votes for bypolls to the Baramati and Rahuri assembly seats in Maharashtra got underway on Monday morning.

A voter turnout of 58.27 per cent was recorded in the Baramati assembly constituency, where Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Pawar is contesting, while Rahuri registered a 56.20 per cent turnout, as per election officials.

The counting of votes began at 8 am in both the assembly segments.

The Baramati seat in Pune district fell vacant following the death of then Deputy CM and Nationalist Congress Party president Ajit Pawar in a plane crash on January 28, necessitating the bypoll.

His wife Sunetra Pawar, who is contesting her first assembly election, is among the 23 candidates in the fray. She had appealed to voters during the campaign to support her as a tribute to her late husband.

No major political party fielded a candidate against her, and she is expected to secure a comfortable victory given her family's hold over the constituency.

The Rahuri assembly seat in Ahilyanagar district fell vacant due to the death of BJP MLA Shivaji Kardile in October last year.

His son Akshay Kardile contested the bypoll as a BJP candidate. His rivals include NCP (SP) nominee Govind Mokate and Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi's Santosh Chalke.