Dispur (Assam) [India], April 6 (ANI): Assam recorded a voter turnout of more than 80 per cent in the third and final phase of polling on Tuesday, according to the latest figures from the Election Commission.
According to EC data, the voter turnout was 82.29 per cent at 7.11 pm. The polling was scheduled to end at 7 pm. The third phase of election in the tea-garden state was held in 40 constituencies of 12 districts in the state.
The fate of 337 candidates, including state minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Hemanta Biswa Sarma in the Jalukbari constituency, was to be decided in this phase of polling.
Leaders of the BJP-led alliance and that led by Congress have expressed confidence about their victory in the polls.
The first phase, March 27, witnessed a voter turnout of nearly 77 per cent, while a voter turnout of nearly 74.76 per cent was recorded in the second phase polling held on April 1. The counting of votes will take place on May 2.
Bengal third phase polls: Amid turmoil, polling ends with 77.68 pc turnout
Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], April 6 (ANI): After a day of turmoil, voting for the third phase of the tightly contested West Bengal assembly elections ended on Tuesday evening with a voter turnout of 77.68 per cent.
According to the Election Commission of India (ECI), some instances of violence and brawls were reported in a few areas and some arrests have been made.
“One incident happened in Khanakul where a candidate went to different polling stations. There was an altercation between two groups, and four were arrested. In Arambagh, another altercation took place after a candidate reached Arandi and five others were arrested,”
The Hooghly district and the Goghat constituency recorded the highest turnout of voters with 79.89 per cent and 84.71 per cent respectively. The districts of Howrah and South 24 Parganas registered a turnout of 77.92 per cent and 76.94 per cent respectively.
Ahead of the third phase, three EVMs and four VVPATs were found in the residence of TMC leader Gautam Ghosh. Following this, the sector officer, Tapan Kumar Sarkar, was suspended along with two assistant sector officers, Samjit Majumdar and Mithun Chakraborty. The sector police officer was also suspended and 3 home guards were demobilised.
There was also an incident where media persons and agents were barred from entering a polling booth in Hooghly’s Tarakeswar constituency. BJP candidate Swapan Dasgupta alleged that state police were misusing authority.
Moreover, BJP candidate from Diamond Harbour, Dipak Haldar, also accused TMC workers of stopping people from casting votes during polling.
“TMC goons are not allowing people to cast their votes at booth number 180 and 143 Dagira Baduldanga. I have complained to the Election Commission officials,” Haldar told ANI.
TMC candidate from Arambagh, Sujata Mondal Khan was allegedly attacked by BJP workers and her vehicle was vandalised by a horde of people. After this, a brawl erupted in the Poishara village of that constituency when locals objected to her visit.
Meanwhile, intensifying his tirade of attacks against the TMC and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Prime Minister Narendra Modi accused the ruling party of taking ‘Bhaipo service tax’ and said Banerjee is abusing him as she fears her defeat.
The Prime Minister slammed the TMC-led state government of misgovernance and accused that the conditions of MSMEs in the state have deteriorated due to the bad policies of the government.
A total of 31 Assembly constituencies in districts including eight in Hooghly, seven in Howrah and 16 in South 24 Parganas are going to polls in phase-III. There are 205 candidates in the fray in this round of polling. However, when it comes to women representation, there are only 13 women candidates contesting in this phase, merely six per cent.
Polling for the first two phases of the West Bengal elections was held on March 27 and April 1 respectively. The fourth phase of polling will take place on April 10. The counting of votes will take place on May 2.
Puducherry sees over 78 pc polling in assembly polls
Puducherry [India], April 6 (ANI): Puducherry recorded a voter turnout of over 78 per cent polling, according to the latest figures from the Election Commission.
According to EC data, the voter turnout was 78.13 per cent at 7.11 pm. The polling ended at 7 pm today.
Polling for 30 assembly seats in Puducherry was held today. Of the 30 Assembly seats, five are reserved for the Scheduled Caste candidates.
Among the senior political leaders who voted today are — former Puducherry CM and Congress leader V Narayanasamy, BJP Puducherry President, V Saminathan and NR Congress chief N Rangaswamy.
The Congress-led government in the Union Territory fell before completing its five-year term under the Chief Minister V Narayansamy.
Narayanasamy had resigned on February 22 ahead of a floor test in the 33-member House (including three nominated) following the resignations of five Congress and one Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) legislators. On February 23, President Ram Nath Kovind accepted the resignation of Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayanasamy and his council of ministers.
Elections in Puducherry, which is currently under President’s Rule, is mainly between the Congress – Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) alliance and the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) comprising All India NR Congress, All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The BJP is contesting on nine seats with the alliance led by the All India NR Congress contesting on 16 seats, and the AIADMK on five seats.
The Congress, whose government in the Union Territory fell in February before completing its five-year term under the Chief Minister V Narayansamy, has also ceded its ground to its allies in Puducherry, giving 13 seats to the DMK and one each to the Communist Party of India and the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi. The party skipped fielding former Chief Minister Narayanasamy and is contesting on only 14 out of its 15 seats.
The counting of votes will take place on May 2.
Just over 65 pc voter turnout recorded in Tamil Nadu Assembly polls
Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], April 6 (ANI): Tamil Nadu recorded a voter turnout of 65.11 per cent in the single-phase Assembly elections that took place on Tuesday.
Voting in all 234 assembly constituencies in 38 districts of the state had begun at 7 am.
As per the Election Commission, Karur reported the highest voter turnout at 77.21 per cent. Other districts where voters came out in large numbers to cast their votes are Kallakurichi (74.41 per cent), Namakkal (74.99 per cent), Perambalur (74.51 per cent) and Ariyalur (72.99 per cent). Chennai reported a turnout of 50.56 per cent.
In Edappadi constituency, where Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami is contesting, a voter turnout of 73.00 per cent was recorded, while Kolathur, where DMK chief MK Stalin is up against AIADMK’s Adhi Rajaram, recorded a turnout of 48.20 per cent was registered.
Coimbatore (South), from where actor and Makkal Needhi Maiam leader Kamal Haasan is making his electoral debut, recorded a turnout of 55.44 per cent.
Several leaders cast their votes today, including incumbent Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami, who urged voters in the state to do the same after he voted at a polling station in Siluvampalayam.
Meanwhile, actors Rajnikanth and Vijay, and actor-turned-politician Kamal Hassan also cast their vote in the first and final phase voting of the state Assembly polls.
Tamil actor Vijay rode a bicycle to the polling station at Vels International Pre School, Neelankarai in Chennai.
A total of 3,998 candidates are in the poll fray in a single phase. In order to combat the COVID-19 spread, the number of polling stations has been increased to 88,937.
AIADMK MP P Ravindranath’s car was allegedly attacked when he went to inspect polling in Bodinayakanur constituency from where his father and Tamil Nadu Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam is contesting the elections.
Tamil Nadu is witnessing a fierce battle between arch-rivals All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) and MK Stalin-led DMK. DMK, which has been out of power since 2011 in the state, is in a head-to-head battle with the ruling AIADMK in nearly 130 constituencies.
AIADMK is contesting the poll in a pre-poll alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Paattali Makkal Katchi (PMK). PMK and BJP are contesting in 23 and 20 constituencies respectively in the 234-member Tamil Nadu assembly while the AIADMK has fielded its candidates for the rest of the seats.
The DMK has allotted 25 seats to Congress, six each to CPI, CPI (M), Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) and Vaiko’s Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK). (ANI)
Kerala records over 74 per cent polling in assembly polls
Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) [India], April 6 (ANI): Kerala has recorded 74.02 per cent voter turnout in the assembly elections as the polling for the state ended by 7 pm on Tuesday. In the 2016 assembly polls, Kerala had recorded 77.53 per cent.
Kozhikode has recorded the highest turnout with 77.9 per cent. The lowest turnout was in Pathanamthitta at 68.09 per cent. Thiruvananthapuram district which has a triangular fight on cards in many seats recorded 69.77 per cent. The Ernakulam district saw brisk polling with 74.12 per cent electorate casting votes.
According to the latest information available, 150 ballot units, 150 control units and 747 Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) machines were damaged during the election. In the Malappuram Lok Sabha by-election, four ballot units, four control units and 33 VVPAT machines were damaged.
At the state level, 0.33 per cent ballot units, 0.33 per cent control units and 1.6 per cent VVPAT had to be replaced due to malfunction. The ensured a smooth and fair election webcasting was done in 20478 booths.
Though there were widespread complaints about chances of bogus voting prior to polls, on polling day apart from few cases, there were no major complaints from parties.
Isolated incidents of violence were reported from few places in the state. Clashes between the Communist Party of India (Marxist) – Bharatiya Janata Party workers took place at Kattayikkonam, Kazhakkoottam in Thiruvananthapuram. Both parties blamed each other for instigating violence and have filed separate complaints against each other with the police.
Braving scorching sun people came out in large numbers in the initial half in various districts of the state to cast their votes. Some districts also witnessed intermediate rain that slowed down the voting process in the closing hours.
The elections to choose members of the 140-seat Kerala Legislative Assembly is witnessing a three-cornered fight between the incumbent CPI(M) led Left Democratic Front (LDF) which hopes for continuity of term, the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF), and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
Meanwhile, the voter turn-out for the Malappuram Lok Sabha by-election has reported 74.53 per cent, as per the latest figures available. (ANI)
