Polling held in 13 states,2 UTs amidst EVM snags, few cases of violence

Voters stand in serpentine queues at a polling station in Guwahati, Assam, on Tuesday. Pic/AFP

With the third phase of polling coming to an end, an interim voter turnout of 63.24 per cent has been recorded overall in 22 states and two Union Territories, the Election Commission said on Tuesday.

Among the states and UTs that went to polls today, Assam witnessed voter turnout of 78.29 per cent, while 59.97 per cent electorates came out to vote in Bihar. In Goa, poll percentage was recorded at 71.09 per cent whereas in Gujarat it was 60.21 per cent, as of 5 pm.

In terms of voter turnout in the third phase, Jammu and Kashmir had 12.86 per cent, Karnataka 64.14 per cent, Kerala 70.21 per cent, Maharashtra 56.57 per cent, Odisha 58.18 per cent, Tripura 78.52 per cent, Uttar Pradesh 57.74 per cent, West Bengal 79.36 per cent, Chhattisgarh 65.91 per cent, Dadra and Nagar Haveli 71.43 per cent and Daman and Diu 65.34 per cent.

Sharing details of polling today, senior Deputy Election Commissioner Umesh Sinha said, "The polling was largely peaceful except for minor incidents at some places. The third phase was the heaviest in terms of the parliamentary constituencies going to polls.Voters across 117 constituencies in 15 states and UTs exercised their constitutional mandate. This accounts for about 20 per cent of seats of the Lok Sabha."

"A total of 22 states and Union Territories have concluded their election completely by the third phase. There were five states and UT which had single phase election today. Notification for all phases has been issued now," he further mentioned. Sinha also said the percentage of voting has remained consistent in the first two phases and participation of women has been high.

"Women have surpassed their male counterparts this year in voting," he said. "In the third phase, more than 19 crore voters, including 9.29 crore women voters, were eligible for voting. 9.98 lakh people with disability were also registered for voting in the third phase," added Sinha.

Oppn demands 50% VVPAT vote count
Opposition parties on Tuesday renewed their demand for verifying 50 per cent of the voter-verified paper audit trail (VVPAT) voter slips with the electronic voting machines (EVMs), and announced plans to launch a fresh challenge in the Supreme Court on the issue.

Coinciding with the third phase of polling in the country, leaders of major national opposition parties addressed a joint press conference here, contending that "the EVMs are susceptible to malfunctioning, manipulations and hacking".

Violence mars third phase of LS polling

Several incidents of violence were reported from many parts of the country on Tuesday. In West Bengal, a man was killed and at least three Trinamool Congress (TMC) activists injured in the different incidents of violence. In another incident, three TMC workers were injured after being hit by a crude bomb hurled at them in Domkal municipality of Murshidabad Lok Sabha constituency. Some unidentified men hurled the bomb near polling booth 27, 28 in Murshidabad's Raninagar area.

Anantnag votes in peace; low turnout

Amid heavy security arrangements, voting ended peacefully on Tuesday in the first phase of the three-phased Lok Sabha elections in Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag constituency.

The constituency spans the Anantnag, Kulgam, Pulwama and Shopian districts. Poll officials said barring a few incidents of stone pelting in Dialgam and Damhal (Kokernag) areas, voting in the district ended peacefully. Voter turnout, however, remained low with only 13 per cent voters exercising their democratic right.

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