Violence in West Bengal, tragedy in Chhattisgarh, and glitches galore: voters brave odds in epic polling day!
Women voter show ink-marked fingers after casting their votes in Jaipur. Pic/PTI
An aggregate 62.37 per cent voter turnout was recorded in phase one of the Lok Sabha polls on Friday, the Election Commission (EC) said.
While the figures were issued after the conclusion of polls, the commission said people who were in the queue when voting ended at 6 pm were allowed to exercise their franchise.
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“The voting percentage is likely to go upwards when reports from all polling stations are obtained as polling is scheduled till 6 pm in many constituencies. Final figures will be known on Saturday after the scrutiny of form 17A,” the EC said.
Polling took place in 102 constituencies across 21 states and Union Territories in the first of the seven-phase elections.
The commission described the turnout as “high”, noting that voting remained “largely peaceful” while an accidental explosion of a grenade launcher shell in Chhattisgarh left a CRPF jawan dead.
In the first phase of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the voter turnout was recorded at 69.43 per cent. Some of the constituencies were different then and the total number of seats which went to polls were 91.
States, including Uttarakhand, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Mizoram, Tamil Nadu and the Union Territories of Puducherry, Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep completed their voting process on Friday in the single-phase election.
For the first time, people in 56 villages in Bastar in Chhattisgarh cast their vote in polling booths set up in their own villages.
The poll authority pointed out that in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, voters belonging to the tribal communities came out in large numbers. The Shompen tribe of Great Nicobar made history by casting vote for the first time.
Voters braved the heat in most parts of the country while, at others, they waited patiently in pouring rain.
Minor EVM glitches were reported at some booths in Tamil Nadu, Arunachal Pradesh, Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Assam.
Election officials said the turnout in West Bengal was 77.57 per cent till 5 pm, Assam 70.77 per cent and Meghalaya 69.91 per cent while voters in six districts of eastern Nagaland stayed indoors following an indefinite shutdown call by an apex body of tribal organisations to press for its demand for a separate state.
In West Bengal, polling was marred by violence in the Cooch Behar seat. TMC and BJP workers clashed with each other and lodged 80 and 39 complaints respectively related to poll violence, voter intimidation, and assault on poll agents, sources from both parties said.
In strife-torn Manipur, around an impressive turnout of 67.46 per cent till 5 pm was recorded.
An altercation broke out between locals and unidentified persons in Thongju assembly constituency under the Inner Manipur Lok Sabha seat.
In Chhattisgarh, 63.41 per cent voters cast their votes in the Naxal-hit Bastar Lok Sabha constituency where the CRPF jawan after the grenade accidentally went off while an officer was injured in an IED blast in another incident.
In Tamil Nadu, where polling is spread over 39 constituencies, a voting percentage of over 63.20 was recorded.
Voting was delayed by an hour in some polling booths in the state such as the one near Tambaram due to technical glitches in the electronic voting machines.
Arunachal Pradesh saw over 60 per cent of the total 8,92,694 voters exercising their franchise.Though the turnout was moderate in the morning hours due to inclement weather, it gathered momentum with weather conditions improving.
In a few polling stations in the state, polling was delayed as the electronic voting machines (EVMs) developed technical snags which were later replaced, Chief Electoral Officer Pawan Kumar Sain said.
Supporters of two candidates clashed near a polling station in the Bameng constituency in East Kameng district, Inspector General of Police (Law & Order) Chukhu Apa said, adding the situation was brought under control and polling is continuing.
Incidents of EVM damage were also reported from three polling stations in some districts, the police officer said.
Andaman and Nicobar Islands saw a voting percentage of 56.87 per cent.There were some minor EVM glitches but it was addressed immediately, officials said.
(Tentative figures taken from the ECI website at the time of press)
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