LIVE | Lok Sabha polls: 58.34% turnout till 5 pm; violence rocks Bengal
Voting is being held in all 13 seats of Punjab and 4 of Himachal, 13 in UP, 9 in Bengal, 8 in Bihar, 6 in Odisha, and 3 in Jharkhand, in addition to Chandigarh
A voter turnout of 58.34 per cent was recorded till 5 pm on Saturday (June 1) in the seventh and final phase of the Lok Sabha polls with incidents of violence between TMC and BJP supporters reported in Sandeshkhali region of West Bengal, and complaints of EVM glitches and rigging at some booths lodged.
A turnout of nearly 67.95 per cent was recorded in Jharkhand. Uttar Pradesh logged a polling percentage of 54, West Bengal 69.89, Bihar 48.86 and Himachal Pradesh 66.56. Punjab recorded a voter turnout of 55.20 per cent till 5 pm while Chandigarh registered a voting percentage of 62.80. Odisha recorded around 62.46 per cent voting.
The turnout in the first six phases of the general election was 66.14 per cent, 66.71 per cent, 65.68 per cent, 69.16 per cent, 62.2 per cent and 63.36 per cent respectively.
Violence in West Bengal
Reports of violence came in from West Bengal, especially in South 24-Parganas district, where a mob stormed a booth and took away an EVM machine. Later, the machine was found in a nearby pond. Clashes broke out between supporters of the TMC, ISF and the BJP in Jadavpur constituency as both parties clashed over stopping polling agents from entering the booths.
In Sandeshkhali, clashes broke out between TMC and BJP supporters over allegations of electoral malpractices. BJP candidate Rekha Patra alleged that TMC goons stopped voters from casting their votes. The TMC made counter allegations and accused Patra and BJP goons of trying to vitiate the poll atmosphere. As both the groups came to blows on Basanti expressway, police resorted to baton charge and tear gas shelling to disperse the mob.
All you need to know about Last Phase polls
Over 10.06 crore citizens, including nearly 5.24 crore men, 4.82 crore women and 3,574 third gender electors are voting in this phase.
Polling is on in all 13 seats of Punjab and four of Himachal Pradesh, 13 constituencies in Uttar Pradesh, nine in West Bengal, eight in Bihar, six in Odisha and three seats in Jharkhand besides Chandigarh. Polling for the remaining 42 assembly constituencies of Odisha and bypolls to six assembly seats in Himachal Pradesh will also take place simultaneously.
Prominent Candidates
Other prominent candidates among the total 904 contestants in fray are Union minister Anurag Thakur, Mamata Banerjee's nephew Abhishek Banerjee, Lalu Prasad's daughter Misa Bharti and actor Kangana Ranaut.
Today's voting marks the end of the marathon polling process that began on April 19 and has already covered 486 Lok Sabha seats in 28 states and Union territories. The assemblies of Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim also went to polls. Counting of votes will be taken up on June 4. In Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim, the counting for the assembly polls will be held on June 2.
According to Election Commission guidelines, television channels and news outlets will be able to run exit poll data and its results on June 1 after 6.30 pm.
STATES GOING TO POLLS TODAY
UTTAR PRADESH
Constituencies going to polls: 13 of 80 (Maharajganj, Gorakhpur, Kushinagar, Deoria, Bansgaon, Ghosi, Salempur, Ballia, Ghazipur, Chandauli, Varanasi, Mirzapur, Robertsganj)
PUNJAB
Constituencies going to polls: All 13 (Gurdaspur, Amritsar, Khadoor Sahib, Jalandhar, Hoshiarpur, Anandpur Sahib, Ludhiana, Fatehgarh Sahib, Faridkot, Firozpur, Bathinda, Sangrur, Patiala)
HIMACHAL PRADESH
Constituencies going to polls: All 4 (Kangra, Mandi, Hamirpur, Shimla)
Assembly segments due for bypolls – 6 (Gagret, Dharamsala, Barsar, Lahaul & Spiti, Kutlehar and Sujanpur)
BIHAR
Constituencies going to polls: 8 of 40 (Patna Sahib, Pataliputra, Arrah, Buxar, Sasaram, Karakat, Jahanabad, Nalanda)
JHARKHAND
Constituencies going to polls: 3 of 11 (Rajmahal, Dumka, Godda)
ODISHA
Constituencies going to polls: 6 of 21 (Mayurbhanj, Balasore, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Kendrapara, Jagatsinghpur)
WEST BENGAL
Constituencies going to polls: 9 of 42 (Dum Dum, Barasat, Basirhat, Jaynagar, Mathurapur, Diamond Harbour, Jadavpur, Kolkata Dakshin, Kolkata Uttar)
A voter turnout of 58.34 per cent was recorded till 5 pm on Saturday in the seventh and final phase of the Lok Sabha polls with incidents of violence between TMC and BJP supporters reported in Sandeshkhali region of West Bengal, and complaints of EVM glitches and rigging at some booths lodged.
Voting is being held amid a severe heatwave in all 13 seats of Punjab and four of Himachal Pradesh, 13 constituencies in Uttar Pradesh, nine in West Bengal, eight in Bihar, six in Odisha and three in Jharkhand, besides Chandigarh.
Polling for the remaining 42 assembly constituencies in Odisha and bypolls to six assembly seats in Himachal Pradesh are also taking place simultaneously.
A voter turnout of nearly 67.95 per cent was recorded in Jharkhand. Uttar Pradesh logged a polling percentage of 54, West Bengal 69.89, Bihar 48.86 and Himachal Pradesh 66.56.
Punjab recorded a voter turnout of 55.20 per cent till 5 pm while Chandigarh registered a voting percentage of 62.80. Odisha recorded around 62.46 per cent voting.
Over 400 people in a village in Jharkhand’s Dumka district boycotted voting on Saturday to protest against the construction of a coal dumping yard.
A total of 426 voters did not exercise their franchise at booth number 94 in Bagdubhi village, a part of the Dumka Lok Sabha constituency.
“Out of 430 voters enrolled in the booth, only four electors have exercised their franchise till 3 pm,” Dumka Circle Officer Amar Kumar told news agency PTI.
He said the villagers have been protesting against the construction of the Railways’ coal dumping yard.
Sub-divisional Officer Ajay Kumar held a meeting with the villagers and assured them of raising the issue with higher authorities. However, they did not agree to vote.
A representative of the village, Lakshman Soren, told PTI, “We made it clear that if the SDO gives us an assurance in writing to stop the construction of the yard, we will go to cast our votes. But we were not given any such assurance.”
Widespread violence between TMC and BJP supporters over alleged electoral malpractices was reported during polling in strife-torn Sandeshkhali region of Basirhat Lok Sabha constituency on Saturday, resulting in numerous injuries. Police resorted to lathicharge and tear gas shelling to control the situation.
Although the poll panel claimed that voting has been peaceful so far, it said it has received 1,899 complaints until 2 pm from different political parties alleging EVM malfunctions and agents being stopped from entering booths.
Clashes broke out between supporters of the TMC, ISF and the BJP in different pockets of the state as the parties clashed over stopping polling agents from entering booths.
In Sandeshkhali, clashes broke out between TMC and BJP supporters over allegations of electoral malpractices. BJP candidate Rekha Patra alleged that TMC goons stopped voters from casting their votes. The TMC made counter-allegations and accused Patra and BJP goons of trying to vitiate the poll atmosphere.
As both the groups came to blows on Basanti express highway, police resorted to baton charge and tear gas shelling to disperse the mob.
Basirhat SP Hossain Mehedi Rahaman said three persons were injured during the clash between TMC and BJP supporters at Bayramari in Sandeshkhali, adding that one person was arrested in this connection.
The riverine area has been on the boil since Friday night in Bermajur area as the BJP made allegations that TMC workers, accompanied by policemen, intimidated its polling agents by visiting their homes on Friday night.
A confrontation erupted in Bhangar within Jadavpur constituency between backers of Trinamool Congress and the Indian Secular Front (ISF), with allegations of crude bombs being hurled from both sides. Police intervention ensued, triggering protests as both factions accused each other.
To quell the situation, security personnel resorted to a lathicharge to disperse the mob, recovering several crude bombs.
Angry voters of Kultuli within Joynagar constituency dumped electronic voting machines (EVMs) and Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail (VV-PAT) machines into nearby waterbodies alleging electoral misconduct. The West Bengal CEO posted on X that fresh EVM and papers were provided to the Sector Officer.
Another incident occurred where the vehicle of an ISF worker was vandalised in Baghajatin area. Accusations have been levelled against Trinamool Congress supporters for the alleged incident.
BJP candidate Abhijit Das accused the ruling party of malpractices, which the TMC denied. As Das approached a polling booth, TMC activists staged protests and shouted “Go back” slogans. In response, Das got out of his car and shouted counter-slogans.
Similarly, CPI(M) candidate Patikur Rehman faced “go back” slogans from TMC workers when he attempted to visit a booth in the Canning area.
In Jadavpur area’s Ganguly Bagan, CPI(M) workers were allegedly beaten by the TMC activists and their camp offices were ransacked. The TMC, however, denied the allegations.
In Baranagar assembly seat, where a by-poll is on, CPI(M) candidate Tanmay Bhattacharya was allegedly physically assaulted when he was standing outside a booth as TMC workers accused him of trying to influence the voters.