Chandigarh, Aug 3 - Polling for by-elections to the Jalalabad, Kahnuwan and Banur assembly seats in Punjab began Monday morning.

Voters started arriving at several rural polling booths early in the day. About 20-25 percent voting was reported in the first couple of hours in all three seats.

The by-election in the Jalalabad seat in Ferozepur district is crucial for the ruling Akali Dal as its president Sukhbir Singh Badal is seeking election from this seat.

Badal junior had to resign as Punjab deputy chief minister last month after he failed to fulfil the constitutional requirement of getting elected to the assembly within six months of being sworn in as deputy chief minister in his father Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal's government.