Two cases of booth capturing in M.P.

Booth capturing reported at Pithua and Bakehana areas that fall under Sagar constituency

Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Sushma Swaraj, shows her inked finger after casting her vote at a poling booth in Bhopal during the fifth phase of Lok Sabha elections on Thursday. Photo: A.M. Faruqui.

Two incidents of booth capturing were reported in Madhya Pradesh on Thursday when 10 seats in the State, including Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia’s Guna and the capital Bhopal went to the polls. The turnout was 54 per cent, compared to 46.21 per cent recorded for the same seats in 2009.

Miscreants, allegedly from the Chambal valley, took control of two polling stations in Surkhi assembly segment of Sagar and cast several votes, apparently having threatened the polling staff. They fled before police arrived although police have been able to trace the vehicle registration numbers.

PTI adds:

Guna recorded the highest turnout at 61.1 per cent so far, followed by Sagar at 59.1 per cent and Rajgarh at 58.95 per cent. The state capital recorded a turnout of 58.42 per cent.

The Election Commission is awaiting the district electoral officer’s report for further action on the booth capturing incident.

Poll boycott is going on in Datia district’s polling booth number 99 and also in Bhind district’s Kacharia village due to development-related issues.