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68% vote in Chhattisgarh

Special Correspondent

— Photo: Akhilesh Kumar

ENTHUSIASTIC TURNOUT: An elderly woman being helped into a booth at Deopuri in Raipur on Thursday.

NEW DELHI: More than 68 per cent polling was reported from 51 Assembly constituencies in Chhattisgarh that went to the polls in the second phase and final phase on Thursday. The percentage is expected to increase, the Election Commission said here.

Boycott at five stations

While no untoward incident was reported from anywhere, voters at five stations did not exercise their franchise to protest against lack of development in their areas and non-fulfilment of promises by the government, Jai Prakash, Deputy Election Commissioner told journalists.

These stations are in Pamgarh, Chandrapur, and Sakti in Janjgir-Champa district, and Raigarh and Dharamjaigarh in Raigarh district.

The Commission asked the Chhattisgarh Chief Electoral Officer to file a case against Chief Minister Raman Singh under the Representation of the People Act, 1952 for campaigning on radio during the prohibited period, and also issue notice to the 104.8 FM and 94.3 FM channels.

The Commission was verifying a BJP complaint that the former Chief Minister Ajit Jogi’s name figured at two places in the electoral roll.

A first information report was registered against a person on the complaint by Gyanendra Upadhyay in the Marwahi constituency after Mr. Jogi’s car was stoned outside a polling station. Mr. Jogi is a candidate in Marwahi.

As many as 300 companies of paramilitary forces had been deployed to ensure peaceful polling.

Each constituency had one observer, apart from 2,100 micro-observers. National Cadet Corps and National Service Scheme volunteers had been posted to maintain discipline outside polling stations.

The polling percentage in the 39 constituencies which went to the polls in the first phase on November 14 was 55.

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