An overall tentative turnout of 63.5% was reported from the 59 constituencies in six States and the Union Territory of Delhi on Sunday in the penultimate phase of Lok Sabha elections that concluded. Incidents of violence were reported from West Bengal and Jharkhand. The turnout in 2014 stood at 63.67%.
The highest participation of 80.35% again was reported from the eight seats in West Bengal, which however was lower that the 84.95% in the previous polls.
Bharti Ghosh injured
The State also witnessed several incidents of violence. In Keshpur under the Ghatal Lok Sabha constituency there were reports of an attack on the BJP candidate and former IPS officer Bharati Ghosh, when she tried to enter a polling booth.
The convoy of Ms. Ghosh, once seen as close to Trinamool Congress (TMC) and Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, was targeted when miscreants threw stones and bombs after she tried to enter another polling station in Keshpur.
Ms. Ghosh, who is contesting against Dipak Adhikari of the TMC, was heckled by ruling party supporters on several occasions.
Following the attacks, the Central Industrial Security Force personnel accompanying her resorted to lathi-charge and firing. Ms Ghosh was forced to take shelter inside a temple near the Keshpur police station. One person sustained injuries in the incident.
Adjoining Medinipur constituency also reported violence. At Belda, four TMC supporters sustained injuries in clashes with BJP workers. BJP candidate Dilip Ghosh was stopped at many places allegedly by TMC activists. At a polling booth in Bishnupur, central forces opened fire when a scuffle broke out in the queue of voters.
A delegation of BJP leaders including Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi met officials at the office of the Chief Electoral Officer and alleged “booth capturing and rigging” at certain booths.
In another incident, a security guard opened fire in the air to disperse a mob outside a polling station in the Moyna Assembly segment. An Electronic Voting Machine was damaged in Haldia before the polling started.
Neighbouring Jharkhand reported a marginal dip in turnout with 64.5% compared to 65.53% in 2014. There was a bomb explosion in Chaibasa but no casualties were reported. A clash between two communities was reported in Jamshedpur, while the vehicle of a candidate from Giridih was pelted with stones by some locals.
Surge in M.P.
Madhya Pradesh, where senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh is facing BJP’s Pragya Singh Thakur in Bhopal, an overall polling of 64.77% was recorded as against 56.81% in 2014. In Bihar too, where a poll official was killed in accidental firing by a home guard, the figure improved from 57.25% to 59.3%.
Voter participation in Haryana dropped from 71.86% in the previous elections to 68.34%. The same trend was noticed in Delhi, which recorded a tentative figure of 59.8% compared to 65.1% in 2014.
Of the seven seats in Delhi, Chandni Chowk and North East Delhi constituencies recorded over 62% turnout while New Delhi, known for its VVIP voters, saw a turnout of 56.1%. Delhi’s Chief Electoral Officer Ranbir Singh expressed disappointment saying the turnout did not meet expectations given the awareness campaigns.
Among the prominent voters in the national capital were President Ram Nath Kovind,Congress president Rahul Gandhi, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, party leader Priyanka Vadra and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.
During polling, 450 VVPATs, 61 control units and 77 ballot units were replaced. Many voters were disappointed after finding their names missing from the voters list. 68 year-old Mohammad Shokeen and 12 members of his family could not cast their votes due to the same reason.
In the 14 parliamentary constituencies of Uttar Pradesh, the turnout was close to the last time’s 54.74%.
