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)
Live Updates
- 1 Jun 2024 10:51 AM GMT
Himachal: 2 Chamba villages boycott polls
Demanding basic facilities like road and internet connection, the residents of twin villages of Makhan and Chachul in Churah subdivision of Himachal Pradesh’s Chamba district boycotted the Lok Sabha elections on Saturday.
The residents of the two remote villages falling under Sanval gram panchayat said they would not vote until the district administration listens to their grievances. “We will not vote until the district administration comes here and listens to our grievances,” said Ravi, a local.
The villagers also alleged that although the administration was apprised of the issues, nothing has changed.
“We are still waiting for internet connectivity, road and electricity and the situation is so pathetic that if someone falls ill, we have to carry patients on foot for 4-5 km to reach the health centre and several people have died as they could not get treatment on time,” Mukesh Kumar, a resident of Makhan village, told news agency PTI over the phone.
Kumar said it has been 76 years since Independence but still the village awaits basic facilities like roads. “We have decided not to vote as our demands have gone unheard,” he said, adding that students are not able to study as there is no internet connectivity and several students dropped out of school during lockdown due to Covid pandemic.
“Besides basic facilities, we demand the building of government schools be repaired and the teachers be deployed in these schools. At present, there is one teacher for 100 students,” he said.
