Some hiccups, overall polling peaceful

Satinder Pal Singh

Dera Bassi, May 19

Defying the hot and humid conditions, voters in Dera Bassi, Zirakpur and Lalru turned out in a large numbers to exercise their right.

Around 70 per cent of the electorate in the Dera Bassi segment, which comes under the Patiala parliamentary constituency, exercised their franchise, according to a preliminary assessment of the returning officer.

Polling, which began at 7 am, continued even after the 6 pm deadline as voters who had queued up earlier were allowed to cast their vote.

Tamana Mahant (34), a transgender from Mubarikpur, cast her vote and flaunted inked finger and expressed hope for a government that ensures a better future for them.

The polling began on a dull note and just 13 per cent votes were polled in the first couple of hours of voting across the Dera Bassi segment. Until 3 pm, the overall voting percentage across the segment was 58 per cent. However, the voting lost its steam by afternoon as people did not venture out due to heat. It picked up after 4 pm.

Polling staff experienced some anxious moments when glitches in VVPATs at polling stations in Lalru and Chhat village, Zirakpur, delayed voting for few hours. These were later rectified or replaced to resume voting, said sources.

Baljit Kaur, BLO at booth no 169 at Malakpur village, Lalru, said there was a glitch in VVPAT during mock polling in the morning. The polling began at 9 am. She said they immediately informed the returning officer about the glitch, which was later rectified. Similarly, at booth No. 172 at Jastna Kalan village, Lalru, voting was delayed for an hour in the morning and in the afternoon after the devices developed malfunctioning in VVPAT.

Police personnel cautioned voters in queues either to switch off their phones or put them on the silent mode before entering the station.