Violence, EVM snags in Phase 3

New Delhi: A high voter turnout, including over 80 per cent in Assam, was recorded in the third and largest phase of Lok Sabha elections on Tuesday covering 117 constituencies across 15 states and UTs amid complaints of EVM malfunctioning in many states and killing of a voter outside a booth in West Bengal.

Election Commission officials in Delhi put the voting percentage at 65.78 till 9 pm. Final figures are likely to change as queues of voters were seen at several centres even after the scheduled time for voting ended.

With Tuesday’s polling, which was the largest phase in terms of number of seats, voting has been completed in 302 Lok Sabha constituencies.

Assam recorded the highest turnout of 80.73 per cent followed by West Bengal with 79.77 per cent, Tripura with 79.57 per cent and Goa with 73.23 per cent.

The whole of Gujarat (with a turnout of 63.67 per cent), Kerala (71.67 per cent) and half of Karnataka (67.56 per cent) voted on Tuesday.

Key contestants whose fates were sealed in EVMs included BJP president Amit Shah, Congress chief Rahul Gandhi, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor and Union minister K. Alphons, Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav, his nephews Dharmendra Yadav and Akshay Yadav, senior party leader Azam Khan, BJP leaders Jaya Prada and Sambit Patra, Odisha Congress chief Niranjan Patnaik, Loktantrik Janata Dal chief Sharad Yadav and Congress leader Pranab Mukherjee’s son Abhijit.

Polling was also held in Anantnag seat in Jammu and Kashmir which saw a low turnout of 13.61 per cent. Elections for this seat are being conducted in three phases. Former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti is contesting from Anantnag.

In a poll-related incident, the driver of a vehicle carrying ITBP troops back from their poll duty in Kokarnag area of south Kashmir was killed as it overturned after a mob hurled stones at it, officials said.

A voter was reportedly hacked to death in Murshidabad district of West Bengal at a polling booth during violent clashes between workers of the ruling Trinamul Congress and the Congress.

 As five seats went for polling in West Bengal, incidents of violent clashes were reported from various parts of the state.

Apart from this, several complaints of EVMs malfunctioning were reported from Kerala, Assam and Uttar Pradesh.

Besides 26 seats in Gujarat and 20 in Kerala, voting was held for four seats in Assam, five in Bihar, seven in Chhattisgarh, 14 each in Karnataka and Maharashtra, six in Odisha, 10 in Uttar Pradesh, five in West Bengal, two in Goa, and one each in Jammu and Kashmir and the Union Territories of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu.

In Gujarat, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP president Amit Shah, party veteran L.K. Advani, Union finance minister Arun Jaitley and Congress leader Ahmed Patel cast their votes at different places. Mr Shah is contesting from Gandhinagar seat.

A turnout of 58.98 was recorded in 14 Lok Sabha constituencies in Maharashtra. State BJP president Raosaheb Danve (Jalna) and NCP chief Sharad Pawar’s daughter Supriya Sule (Baramati) were among the prominent candidates in the fray.

An estimated 61.35 per cent of voters exercised their franchise in the 10 Lok Sabha seats of Uttar Pradesh. The 10 seats mainly consisted of the Yadav strongholds including Mulayam Singh Yadav’s Mainpuri, Badaun and Firozabad, among others. The BJP had won seven of these 10 seats in 2014, while the SP had bagged three.

The Samajwadi Party lodged a complaint over the alleged malfunctioning of EVMs with the Election Commission, terming it criminal negligence. At a booth in Etah, the presiding officer was removed after people accused him of forcing them to cast their votes in favour of the SP.

Polling in Tripura East constituency, which was postponed in the last round by the Election Commission in view of the law and order situation, also took place during the third phase.

Billed as a key seat given the presence of Congress chief Rahul Gandhi on the ballot, the Wayanad Lok Sabha segment in Kerala witnessed a record turnout. The voting percentage was 76.21 as of 6 pm when the polling time officially ended, three per cent more than what was recorded in 2014 (73.2 per cent).

Chhattisgarh saw a turnout of 68.41 per cent. An estimated 60.44 per cent polling was recorded in Odisha and 59.97 per cent voting was recorded in Bihar.

After the third phase, polling has been completed in six states. The rest of 240 seats will vote in the four remaining phases till May 19. The counting of votes and results would be announced on May 23.

Polling in remaining phases will take place on April 29, May 6, May 12 and May 19.

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