Nearly 66% polling amid reports of violence; man hacked to death in WB

New Delhi, April 23

A high voter turnout, including over 80 per cent in Assam, was recorded in the third and largest phase of Lok Sabha elections today, covering 117 constituencies amid complaints of EVM malfunctioning in many states and killing of a man outside a booth in West Bengal.

Election Commission officials in Delhi put the voting percentage at 65.71 at 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, voting has been held in 302 Lok Sabha constituencies. In Gujarat, a turnout of 63.67 per cent was registered for the 26 seats. Key political leaders, including PM Narendra Modi, BJP president Amit Shah, party veteran LK Advani, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and Congress leader Ahmed Patel, cast their votes at different places in the state. Shah is contesting from Gandhinagar.

The polling percentage was 71.47 in Kerala from where Congress chief Rahul Gandhi, party MP Shashi Tharoor and Union minister K Alphons are among those in the fray.

In Karnataka, 67.44 per cent electors cast their votes in 14 LS constituencies. 

Around 61.35 per cent voters exercised their franchise for the 10 Lok Sabha seats in UP amid reports of EVM snags at some booths.

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.

A turnout of 58.98 was recorded in 14 LS constituencies of Maharashtra. State BJP president Raosaheb Danve (Jalna) and NCP chief Sharad Pawar’s daughter Supriya Sule (Baramati) are among the prominent candidates in the fray. The two LS seats in Goa registered an average 73.23 per cent voting.

Chhattisgarh saw a turnout of 68.41 per cent. In West Bengal, a group of men attacked 52-year-old Tiyarul Sheikh with sharp-edged weapons following an altercation when he went to vote at a booth in Baligram Primary School in Murshidabad LS constituency, the police said.

Congress candidate of Murshidabad Lok Sabha seat Abu Hena claimed Tiyarul was a party worker and was killed by TMC cadres. Bombs were reportedly hurled outside a booth in Balurghat seat in West Bengal, leading to commotion. Central forces allegedly baton-charged a mob in Suti area of Jangipur.

Around 59.57 per cent polling was recorded in Odisha, 79.63 per cent in West Bengal, 80.73 per cent in Assam, 59.97 per cent in Bihar and 79.57 per cent in Tripura. Voting was also held for 42 Assembly seats in Odisha. — TNS/PTI

ITBP man killed in J-K

The driver of a vehicle carrying ITBP troops back from their poll duty in Kokarnag area of south Kashmir was killed as the vehicle overturned after a mob hurled stones at it.