Amid complaints of violence and rigging yet again, West Bengal led the way in terms of registering a record-breaking voter turnout (81.28 per cent) among the seven States that went to polls on Wednesday in the penultimate round of the lok Sabha elections. Seemandhra too raked up an impressive percentage (76.01). In all, three persons died, one each in Bihar and Seemandhra in poll-related violence besides a poll official, who succumbed to cardiac arrest in Uttarakhand.
The eighth phase marked the completion of polling for 502 lok Sabha seats out of 543 lok Sabha constituencies. The remaining 41 lS seats will go to poll on May 12 in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal. India registered a record turnout of voters, surpassing the previous record in 1984, as 66.27 per cent voting was reported in 502 lok Sabha seats where polling has been conducted this time. Turnout of women voters also recorded highest figure ever as they outnumbered men in 13 States this time.
In Bengal, where polling was held for six seats, Opposition parties demanded re-polling in more than 300 booths alleging rigging by Trinamool Congress workers in Medinipur, Vishnupur, Bankura, Jhargram and Asansol. Both the left and the BJP said their candidates who went to enquire into the complaints were heckled and the Trinamool men roamed inside the booths with impunity.
“Polls were not free and fair in many places and the State police were acting to the benefit of the ruling Trinamool Congress” CPI(M) West Bengal secretary Biman Bose said, adding that about 100 booths in Vishnupur experienced massive rigging as there was no CRPF personnel to secure the booths.Reports also poured in about a rare incident of persecution of Opposition workers. “A breast of a relative of a CPI(M) polling agent in Arambagh constituency was reportedly chopped off by alleged Trinamool men late on Tuesday,” police sources said adding the victim was undergoing treatment.
In a petition to Chief Election Commissioner VS Sampath, CPI(M) Politburo members S Ramachandran Pillai and Sitaram Yechury charged that “rigging and violence in the elections have completely distorted the process of conducting free and fair polls” in West Bengal. He said such malpractices would boost the morale of the culprits as 17 of the 42 lok Sabha constituencies in the State will have polling on May 12.
In Seemandhra, which also saw sporadic incidents of violence during polls for 25 lok Sabha seats, TDP demanded re-election in at least 38 polling stations across Anantapuram, Chittoor, Kadapa and Nellore districts. TDP candidate Ramasubba Reddy was attacked with knives and stones in Jammalamadugu constituency, he alleged.
While Bihar recorded over 58 per cent voting in the seven lok Sabha seats even as one person was killed in police firing outside a booth in Sitamarhi district, Uttar Pradesh recorded 55.56 per cent polling for 15 lS seats. Over 43 per cent of 13.57 lakh voters cast their votes in the last leg of the five-phased Jammu & Kashmir polls. While the Baramulla constituency recorded 39.6 per cent turnout, the mountainous ladakh segment posted 64 per cent.
Altogether 60.57 per cent of the voters cast their votes in the repolling at three polling stations under Assam’s Karimganj lok Sabha seat following reports of alleged electoral malpractices by poll officials. Around 62 per cent of the voters cast their votes in Uttarakhand where polling for five lok Sabha seats completed peacefully amid tight security.