LS polls: Over 80 pc voter turnout in WB; heavy in Telangana, Punjab

www.mangaloretoday.com

New Delhi, April 30, 2014: Brisk voting was today underway in most of the seven states and two Union Territories in the seventh phase of Lok Sabha elections that will decide the fate of top guns including Narendra Modi, Sonia Gandhi, L K Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi.

The whole of Gujarat with 26 seats and Punjab with 13 seats are among 89 constituencies that went to polls today. A total of 13.83 crore voters have the right to vote in the polls.

Elections are already over in the first six phases involving 349 of the 543 constituencies. With today’s polling, 438 constituencies will be covered. Elections to the remaining 105 constituencies will he held on May 7 (64 seats) and May 12 (41).

Nearly 82.50% per cent voters in nine Parliamentary constituencies of West Bengal cast their votes till 6 pm in the third phase of the Lok Sabha polls in the state.

Besides 70 percent polling was recorded for 17 Lok Sabha seats and 119 state assembly seats in the first election in Telangana, which is set to born as India’s 29th state on June 2. Officials said the polling was 68 percent at 5 p.m. Those standing in queues at 6 p.m. will be allowed to vote, said chief electoral officer Bhanwarlal. Barring minor incidents, balloting was on peacefully amid tight security at 30,574 polling booths across 10 districts of Telangana including Hyderabad.

Despite scorching sun, about 58 per cent voter turnout was recorded at the end of polling in seven Lok Sabha seats in Bihar in the fourth phase of Lok Sabha election. It was 12 per cent more than recorded in the 2009 elections.

25.62 pc voter turnout in Jammu and Kashmir’s Srinagar was recorded. Voting remained here sluggish in the wake of the separatists’ call for boycott of the elections.

Gujarat recorded 62 per cent voter turnout. Brisk polling was seen in 26 Lok Sabha seats in Gujarat with around 47 per cent of the total 4.05 crore registered voters exercising their franchise in the state by 3 PM. "At 3 PM, average voting on 26 seats in the state was around 47 per cent," Additional Chief Electoral Officer Ashok Manek said.