LS elections: Phase I sees voter turnout at around 60 percent
In the first phase of Lok Sabha elections, voting was held on 102 seats in 21 states on Friday. The Election Commission said according to latest figures around 60 percent voting took place in the first phase. Till 6 pm, 58.49 percent voting was recorded in eight parliamentary constituencies of western Uttar Pradesh
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In the first phase of Lok Sabha elections, voting was held on 102 seats in 21 states on Friday. The Election Commission said according to latest figures around 60 percent voting took place in the first phase. Till 6 pm, 58.49 percent voting was recorded in eight parliamentary constituencies of western Uttar Pradesh.
Officially, polling ended at 6 pm, but voters who were in the queue by that time were allowed to exercise their franchise.
According to the Election Commission, till 7 pm, 63.68 percent voting took place in Saharanpur, 59.32 percent in Moradabad, 60.60 percent in Kairana, 59.17 percent in Nagina and 60.23 percent in Pilibhit. Voting was 54.68 percent in Bijnor, 54.91 percent in Muzaffarnagar and 52.42 percent in Rampur.
Voting was 77.57 percent in West Bengal, 80.17 percent in Tripura, 72.10 percent in Assam, 65.08 percent in Jammu and Kashmir, 64.77 percent in Madhya Pradesh and 63.41 percent in Chhattisgarh. Whereas in Uttarakhand 54.06 percent, in Tamil Nadu 64.65 percent, in Rajasthan 56.33 percent and in Maharashtra 55.35 percent voters cast their votes. The lowest voter turnout in this phase was in Bihar at 48.50 percent.
SP accused of influencing voting
SP candidate from Muzaffarnagar Lok Sabha seat accused of booth capturing. SP candidate Harendra Malik has also filed a complaint regarding this in the Election Commission. The SP leader alleged that voters were beaten up in Kutbi village. SP accused the voters of influencing the voting by threatening and preventing them from voting at many Lok Sabha booths in Saharanpur, Moradabad, Kairana and Rampur. SP has also complained about slow voting at many places and EVM malfunctioning. SP candidate from Kairana, Iqra Hasan, accused the administration of harassing Muslim women. SP has alleged that BJP leaders and booth agents were casting fake votes at booth number 237 in Kanth, Moradabad, and attempts were being made to capture the booth in front of the administration.
Villagers boycott voting
Villagers boycotted voting in Rasoolpur Gujran village of Kandhla area in Shamli district. The villagers expressed their pain and said that fake cases were registered against them. On the other hand, there was an altercation between the agents of both the candidates over casting fake votes in village Shamgarhi of Kairana Assembly. The police have taken both of them to the police station.
Among the prominent candidates in the fray in this phase of polling are the BJP's Jitin Prasada from Pilibhit, Union minister Balyan from Muzaffarnagar and Azad Samaj Party chief Chandra Shekhar Azad from Nagina. The ruling BJP has joined hands with the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD), while the SP has allied with the Congress in this election. The Bahujan Samaj Party has decided to go solo.
A total of 80 candidates -- 73 men and seven women -- are in the fray in the first phase.
Booth agent assaulted in Churu
This was done on Congress booth agent Vijendra Jakhar in Rampura village in Churu Lok Sabha constituency. Congress leaders have termed the attack as a result of the BJP being upset over the defeat and have demanded the district administration to take action against the attackers.
Incidents of violence in Bengal
There are reports of clashes between workers of Trinamool Congress and BJP in Cooch Behar region of West Bengal. In the first phase, sporadic incidents of violence were recorded in three parliamentary seats. Both parties have lodged complaints regarding violence during voting, intimidation of voters and attacks on election agents. Till 11 am, 33.68 percent voting was recorded in Cooch Behar while Alipurduar and Jalpaiguri recorded 35.20 and 31.94 percent voting respectively.
Armed people enter polling booth in Manipur
There is news of armed people entering a polling booth in Manipur. The incident took place at Khongman polling station in Imphal East, Manipur. After the uproar in Manipur, polling has been stopped at a total of 5 booths, out of which 2 are in Imphal East and 3 in Imphal West.
Reputation of many veterans at stake
In this phase of Lok Sabha elections, 1,625 candidates including eight Union Ministers, two former CMs and one former Governor are in the fray. In the first phase, all 39 of Tamil Nadu, 12 of Rajasthan, 8 of Uttar Pradesh, all 5 of Uttarakhand, 2 of Arunachal Pradesh, 4 of Bihar, 1 of Chhattisgarh, 4 of Assam, 6 of Madhya Pradesh, 5 of Maharashtra, 5 of Manipur. Voting took place on 2 seats in Meghalaya, 1 each in Mizoram and Tripura and 3 seats in West Bengal.
