Over 65% of the 1.68 lakh voters exercised their franchise in the bypoll for the Penukonda assembly constituency in Andhra Pradesh's Anantapur district, which passed off peacefully on Thursday.

Polling started on a dull note in the morning, but picked up momentum as the day progressed. More women voters than males turned up at several polling booths, officials said.

On the directions of the Election Commission, the district authorities had asked two ministers from the district -- J C Diwakar Reddy and N Raghuveera Reddy -- to move out of the constituency on Wednesday afternoon and remain outside till the end of polling on Thursday evening.

• 6 TDP activists killed in police firing

The byelection was necessitated following the killing of Telugu Desam Party legislator Paritala Ravi in Anantapur town on January 24.

• TDP MLA killed in bomb attack

While the TDP has fielded Ravi's widow Paritala Sunita, the Congress has fielded a low-profile candidate, Boya Sriramulu.

A Bahujan Samaj Party candidate and six other independents are also in the fray.

Penukonda was virtually turned into a fortress on Thursday with the deployment of 5,700 police personnel, including two superintendents of police, six additional superintendents, 18 deputy superintendents, 2,182 officers of other ranks and civil constables and 3,400 armed policemen.

The police also set up three control rooms at Anantapur, Penukonda and Chennekothapalli, erected 35 checkposts, 17 outposts at strategic points and 22 armed pickets.

The police also deployed 27 route mobile parties and 27 striking forces, besides two special striking forces headed by DSPs in each mandal and 25 road opening parties.

Video cameras were installed at all problematic polling stations and special watchers kept vigil on all polling stations.

In all, 68 villages were categorised as hypersensitive, including 48 left-wing extremist villages, 43 villages as sensitive and 10 villages as troublesome.

Outsiders were completely barred from the constituency since Wednesday with the police sealing all entry points.

Vehicular traffic on National Highway 7 was diverted at Kodikonda and Anantapur on either side to bypass Penukonda constituency from 6 am to 6 pm on Thursday.

The election process commenced on a bloody note on May 13 with seven TDP activists killed in police firing when Sunita went to the revenue divisional office to file her nomination papers along with thousands of followers.

• The killing fields of Rayalaseema

Acting on the complaints of the TDP leaders, the EC directed Rayalaseema Inspector General of Police R P Meena to stay away from election duties and deputed another IGP rank officer, Boobati Babu, to oversee the security arrangements.

Treating Penukonda as a special case, the EC deputed three observers to the constituency, apart from a joint chief electoral officer to oversee the polling process.

The results of the bitterly-fought bypoll would be known by 11 am on June 5.