Chandigarh, Jan 28 (IANS): Voting began for the by-election in Jind assembly constituency on Monday morning.

Despite the early morning chill, voters could be seen queued up at some of the polling stations. The voting started at 7 am and will continue till 5 pm.

Tight security arrangements have been put in place for the voting. Over 3,000 Haryana Police personnel and para-military forces have been stationed in the constituency.

Over 1.72 lakh registered voters are set to exercise their franchise in Jind. The constituency has a substantial vote of the Scheduled Castes (SC) and backward classes (around 50 per cent) and Jats (around 25 per cent).

The by-election is a test for all the four major parties in the fray - the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, Congress, Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) and the newly formed Jannayak Janata Party (JJP).

The fate of the four main candidates, Randeep Surjewala (Congress), Krishan Middha (BJP), Umed Singh (INLD) and Digvijay Chautala (JJP), will be decided by the voters on Monday.

Counting of votes will take place on Thursday (Jan 31).