The Naxal attack in Dantewada, a couple of days ago, failed to deter the voters who were enthusiastic to cast their ballot as they came out in droves to register an impressive 77 per cent turn out at the Shyamgiri polling station in the first phase of Lok Sabha polling on April 11. But north eastern States unexpectedly recorded a lower turn out this time around.
While Bihar witnessed an unenthusiastic response from the voters with just about 50 per cent of them coming to exercise their franchise, West Bengal recorded 81 per cent turnout. 4 seats in Bihar and 2 in Bengal went to polls in the first phase. Interestingly, 7-8 polling stations in Odisha went with zero polling due to naxal fear.
According to Election Commissioner, Umesh Sinha, about 56 per cent turnout was recorded in Chhattisgarh's Bastar Lok Sabha seat with the Shyamgiri polling booth where the Maoist attack two days ago had left a BJP MLA dead.
In 2014, the turnout had been 59 per cent. Barring a few minor incidents, the overall polling in the Maoist-affected area was peaceful, the poll panel said. "Long queues of voters were seen outside the polling stations in several Maoist-affected areas," he added. "Of the 28 Assembly constituencies that went to polls in Odisha, 20 were in Maoist-affected areas of the State. Except 7-8 polling booths in Chitrakonda block' which recorded zero per cent voting because of naxal fear, people came out in large numbers in the Maoist belts to exercise their franchise," the EC said.
An improvised explosive device (IED) blast was reported in Maharashtra's Gadchiroli district as voting was underway in the Maoist-affected district. No one was injured in the incident. A similar blast was triggered by Maoists in Chhattisgarh's Narayanpur district in Bastar Lok Sabha constituency in the wee hours of Thursday but no injury or casualty took place due to special security measures as there was deployment of 80,000 security personnel, it said.
As the voter turnout was 69%, 60% and 78% in Sikkim, Mizoram and Nagaland respectively, the highest turnout among the North Eastern States was in Tripura with 81.80% of voters exercising their voting rights for choosing their representative for the 17th Lok Sabha. The voter turnout was 78.20%, 68%, 66% and 67.16% in Manipur, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya respectively.
Altogether 56 per cent voters exercised their franchise in the first phase of polling in seven Lok Sabha constituencies in Maharashtra. According to EC, Naxal-hit Gadchiroli-Chimur Lok Sabha seat witnessed an impressive 61.33 per cent voter turn-out, while 60.50 per cent electorate exercised the franchise in Bhandara-Gondiya. Chandrapur recorded 55.97 per cent polling, followed by 55.36 per cent in Wardha, 53.97 per cent in Yavatmal- Washim, 53.13 per cent in Nagpur and 51.72 per cent in Ramtek (SC) seat.
According to EC, there have been some incidents where EVMs have been damaged. 6 incidents in Andhra Pradesh, five in Arunachal Pradesh, one in Bihar, two in Manipur and one in West Bengal.
An estimated 69 per cent of the voters in Sikkim have exercised their franchise till 5 pm to elect a 32-member State Legislative Assembly as well as the lone Lok Sabha member from the State. In 2014, voter turn out was 83.65 per cent. Chamling, who is seeking an eighth successive term as an MLA, is contesting from two Assembly seats — Poklok-Kamrang and Namchi-Singhithang. Former Indian football captain Bhaichung Bhutia, the working president of the Hamro Sikkim party (HSP) has entered into fray from two Assembly seats as well, including the Gangtok Assembly constituency, reserved for the indigenous Bhutia-Lepcha communities.
Voting for two Lok Sabha constituencies and 60 Assembly seats in Arunachal Pradesh witnessed 66 per cent voter turnout this time as compared to 80 per cent in 2014.
As per EC, Odisha witnessed 68 per cent voter turnout which is lower than 73 per cent of 2014. BJD chief, Naveen Patnaik, is seeking fifth term in the State. As per the trend observed over the last general elections, higher turnout in Odisha cannot be categorised as anti-incumbency or pro-incumbency, but a certain inference could easily be drawn out. Higher turnout in Odisha gives a decisive mandate to a party.
Of the 70 lakh people, around 50 per cent voted by the end of the day in the Maoist-affected districts of Gaya, Nawada and Jamui in the first phase of Lok Sabha elections in Bihar.
According to EC, an overall 56 per cent of the votes were cast in Jammu & Kashmir's Jammu and Baramulla Lok Sabha constituencies. Voter turnout in Jammu is recorded 72.16 per cent and 35.01 per cent in Baramulla.
Over 57 per cent of the electorate in Uttarakhand cast their vote on Thursday to seal the fates of 52 candidates as polling was held in the first phase of the general elections to its five Lok Sabha seats.
The turnout recorded at 5 pm across the five seats was 57.85 per cent, Chief Electoral Officer Soujanya said.