Electronic voting machines or EVMs are being used in this election. Voting started at 9am and will continue until 5pm without any break.
Six candidates, including Awami League’s Moslem Uddin Ahmed and BNP’s Abu Sufian, are contesting the by-polls.
The other contestants are – Chairman of Bangladesh Nationalist Front (BNF) SM Abul Kalam Azad, Syed Mohammad Farid Uddin of Islamic Front Bangladesh, Bapon Dasgupta of NAP and independent candidate Mohammad Emdadul Haque.
Chattogram-8 constituency is comprised of five wards (ward No 3-7) of Chittagong City Corporation and Boalkhali upazila, except Sripur and Kharandip unions.
There are 475,996 voters in the constituency.
Badal, the executive president of a faction of Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (Jasod), was elected MP with Awami League's symbol 'Boat' in the last general election.
He died at a hospital in India on November 7 last at the age of 67.