Hurdles such as threat of poll boycott or EVMs malfunctioning typical to any general election marked the conduct of polling in the three lok Sabha constituencies of Mahasamund, Kanker and Rajnandgaon in Chhattisgarh on Thursday.
Voters seem completely undeterred in almost all polling booths despite the delays and waited patiently to cast their vote for the biggest democratic exercise underway in the country.
The villagers after arriving at booth number 180, Toshgaon, at Saraipali in Mahasamund lok Sabha constituency, first decided to boycott polls while demanding sufficient power supply and water for their village during the morning hours.
The shocked polling officials at the booth got down to convince the voters to cast their vote while Additional Collector B l Yadu along with other officials arrived later at the polling booth to pacify the voters. After much persuasion, the voters finally agreed to queue up and vote. The voting in the booth started at 11 am instead of 7 am.
Festive atmosphere at Dhamtari
In Dhamtari, a festive atmosphere prevailed at the polling booths as sheer enthusiasm was seen on the faces of men and women, they were in colourful attire, who were part of the long queues after arriving early to cast their vote.
Interestingly, the long queues remained only till noon and as the mercury rose, the number of voters started dwindling from the booths.
However, by 1 pm, the booths in Dhamtari had already clocked up with almost 50 per cent voting. Polling was delayed at Pithora , under Mahasamund lok Sabha constituency as some of the EVMs developed a snag during the morning hours.
However, streams of people remained undeterred in front of polling booths and patiently waited for the poll to start.
The polling remained stalled in booth number 15 for an hour, between 10 am to 11 am. In Kurud, people voted in trickles due to intense heat after noon hours, while brisk voting was seen during the morning hours.
Men outnumbered women
Meanwhile, re-polling at Polampalli booth of Bastar lok Sabha constituency where voting could not be held on April 10 due to disruption caused by Maoists also concluded at 3 pm, on Thursday.
At Basna, the number of men outnumbered women in the queues seen at the nine polling booths.