INDIA VOTES 2024: High tempers mark peaceful polling in searing summer heat

Nitin Jain

Ludhiana, June 1

Tempers ran high at several polling stations as scuffles and minor incidents of violence were reported during the voting, which remained by and large peaceful, to two parliamentary constituencies spread across the 14 Assembly segments of Ludhiana, the state’s biggest and largest district, in terms of area and population, on Saturday.

Ludhianvis voted in searing summer heat in the final phase of the seven-phase General Election to the 18th Lok Sabha, as three-time sitting MP Ravneet Singh Bittu seeks a rare fourth term in a poll focussed on inequality and religion.

HIGH & LOW

Highest: Ludhiana Central 55.8%

Lowest: Ludhiana South 47%

(Source: ECI, figures till 5 pm)

District Election Officer-cum-Deputy Commissioner Sakshi Sawhney and the Commissioner of Police Nilabh Kishore claimed total peaceful polling. “No untoward incident was reported and it was all peaceful exercise,” they told The Tribune at the end of the polling.

However, an FIR against a voter for illegally recording and uploading video of his casting vote was lodged till reports last came in.

As democracy was lost in the elections, the enthusiasm of voters notwithstanding, the high and mighty candidates of the Centre’s ruling BJP, Punjab’s main Opposition Congress and the state’s ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) had their own way. After parting ways over contentious farm laws, the BJP and the SAD contested the parliamentary poll separately for the first time after 1996.

The voter turnout in Ludhiana, which sends a maximum of 14 MLAs, accounting for almost 12 per cent of the total 117 members, to the Punjab Vidhan Sabha, remained 60 per cent till 7 pm when the polling at several stations was still in progress, with district officials saying the figures may vary slightly when the entire data is tabulated manually.

This was not much less than 62.77 per cent polling recorded in Ludhiana in 2019 while the 2022 Assembly polls had reported 67.67 per cent turnout when the AAP had sprung a surprise by winning an unprecedented 13 of the total 14 Assembly seats. The 2017 Assembly polls had logged 74.74 per cent turnout, which had given eight seats to the Congress, three to AAP, two to the Lok Insaaf Party (LIP) and one to the SAD.

However, the district’s voter turnout was almost 5 per cent less than the state’s average of nearly 65 per cent polling.

Women and men, young and old, ruralites and urbanites were seen lined up in queues outside polling booths as the day progressed.

Scorching summer temperature with unusually severe heatwaves, compounded voter fatigue, with the district administration making available ORS, rose sharbat and shades, besides medical assistance available at all 2,921 polling stations across the district.

Mercury hovered around 46°C in many voting areas on Saturday.

Unemployment and inflation remained the main concerns for voters in the predominantly urban Ludhiana general constituency of 17.59 lakh voters. The electorate queued early outside polling stations in urban and rural parts of the district amid farmers’ protest for minimum price guarantees for their crops.

“No party or candidate is bothered about people till polls come every five years,” quipped Rajeshwari (25). Dismayed by all mainstream parties, this unemployed postgraduate pressed the NOTA button on the EVM.

Krishan Singh (67) in Jagraon said it was a choice between the Congress and AAP in villages as the BJP was “against farmers”.

“The BJP deserves a chance as we have tried all other parties in the state,” a housewife, Amrita (36), said while standing in a queue in Ludhiana North.

“We have been enduring a prolonged poll schedule. I pray that it comes to a peaceful end today,” said Sanant Basu, a resident of West Bengal’s capital Kolkata, as sporadic violence marred voting in at least two seats.

The BJP concentrated its re-election campaign by focussing on its achievements over the past 10 years and cashing in on the name of PM Narendra Modi but soon switched to mostly targeting the Congress by accusing it of favouring the country’s minority Muslims, which the party denies.

The Congress and AAP, which were part of the opposition INDIA bloc but contested separately in Punjab, largely campaigned on affirmative action and saving the Constitution from what they alleged Modi’s dictatorial rule, an allegation the saffron party denies.

While Ludhiana Central, from where AAP’s Ashok Parashar Pappi is the sitting MLA, kept lead with the highest of almost 65 per cent turnout, Ludhiana South Assembly segment remained the laggard with polling below 60 per cent till reports last came in. However, the final polling figures are still awaited.

Though there are a total of 43 official contestants in the poll fray, which is the maximum count in the state, it is for the first time in the political history that Ludhiana has witnessed a triangular contest, which was in the past used to be a direct fight between the Congress and the SAD, having won the seat six and five times, respectively, since 1977. The only exception remained the victory of the Simranjit Singh Mann-led SAD’s Rajinder Kaur Bulara in 1989 when the border state was passing through the black days of terrorism.

The polling began at 7 am and continued at several polling stations even after the official closure time of 6 pm, the DC-cum-DEO said.

The counting of votes would be held on June 1 and the results would be declared the same day.

With the sporadic reports of chaos and minor violence going mostly unnoticed or found unreasonable, the election process culminated peacefully.

But the story was not the same in all the Vidhan Sabha segments. Several places saw total peaceful polling and maximum voter turnout.

The polling was disrupted for some time at some booths following snags in electronic voting machines (EVMs), which were restored within minutes.

Supporters gave a tough time to the police in several areas, where tension prevailed throughout the day, as heavy police force intervened many times to ward off supporters of rival groups to avoid a clash.

Meanwhile, the polling remained at low ebb at the beginning of the day and an average of 9.08 per cent was recorded in the first two hours till 9 am, picking up to 22.19 per cent till 11 am, 35.16 per cent till 1 pm, 43.82 per cent till 3 pm, 52.22 per cent till 5 pm and reaching approximately 60 per cent by the official concluding time of the polling process at 6 pm. However, the voters, who had reached polling stations before 6 pm, were allowed to cast their votes till the reports last came in.

Even after the polling booths shut their doors at 6 pm, the voters were seen queued at several polling booths in different constituencies with maximum rush witnessed in urban areas.

“All voters, who had entered the polling booths by 6 pm, were allowed to vote,” the DEO said after visiting the booths with queues of voters in different parts of the district.

Sources said several impersonators were held at the polling booths and were let off by officials after the polling was over as no formal complaints were received against them.

However, the police denied any such incident while claiming that no case was registered in this regard till reports last came in. The police had to call additional forces in some areas to bring the situation under control just before the polling was scheduled to end.

DEO early bird

DEO Sakshi Sawhney was the first one to cast her vote at the polling station in the GCG here at 7 am.

DC thanks voters, officials

DC-cum-DEO Sawhney thanked voters and officials, especially those put on polling and security duty, besides the candidates and political parties for helping the district administration in ensuring free, fair, peaceful and smooth polling across the district.