voting on Saturday began on a brisk note in by-elections to three Lok Sabha and 33 assembly constituencies spread across ten states, seen as a test of Narendra Modi government’s popularity, especially as BJP braces for polls in two states next month. Amid elaborate security arrangements, polling was being held in 11 Assembly seats and one Lok Sabha seat in Uttar Pradesh, where the stakes are high for BJP. Around nine per cent votes were cast in the first two hours, according to poll officials.