LIVE | 63% turnout in LS polls phase 4; Bengal tops with 76% amid violence
Polling was held in 96 constituencies across 9 states, 1 UT; 175 Assembly seats of Andhra Pradesh and 28 of Odisha also went to polls in this phase
A voter turnout of over 63 per cent was recorded in the fourth phase of Lok Sabha elections in 96 constituencies spread over nine states and one Union Territory amid incidents of violence in Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal and reports of poll boycott in some villages of Uttar Pradesh.
There were also reports of malfunctioning of EVMs in some booths of West Bengal and Odisha.
The voting, which started at 7 am, continued till 6 pm. Jammu and Kashmir witnessed the lowest voting percentage with 36.58 per cent voters exercising their franchise, while West Bengal recorded the highest with 75.94 per cent.
Among other states, Andhra Pradesh recorded 68.12 per cent, Bihar 56.85 per cent, Jharkhand 63.37 per cent, Madhya Pradesh 71.72 per cent, Maharashtra 52.75 per cent, Odisha, 63.85 per cent, Telangana 61.39 per cent and Uttar Pradesh 57.88 per cent till last reports came in on Monday.
In the first three of the seven-phase Lok Sabha elections, polling concluded in 283 seats out of 543.
For Monday, over 19 lakh polling officials were deployed at 1.92 lakh polling stations for over 17.70 crore eligible voters, including 8.73 crore women.
There were 1,717 candidates in the fray for the fourth phase of Lok Sabha polls.
Polling was held in all 17 Lok Sabha seats in Telangana, all 25 seats in Andhra Pradesh, 13 in Uttar Pradesh, five in Bihar, four in Jharkhand, eight in Madhya Pradesh, 11 in Maharashtra, four in Odisha, eight in West Bengal and one in Jammu and Kashmir.
Also, 175 Assembly seats of Andhra Pradesh and 28 Assembly seats of Odisha went to polls in this phase.
Live Updates
- 13 May 2024 1:22 PM IST
Violence in Andhra, poll boycott in UP
A voter turnout of over 24 per cent was recorded in the first four hours of polling in the fourth phase of the Lok Sabha elections amid reports of violence in Andhra Pradesh and poll boycott in some villages of Uttar Pradesh.
There were also reports of malfunctioning of EVMs in some booths of West Bengal and Odisha.
In Andhra Pradesh, YSRCP leader and Tenali MLA A Shiva Kumar allegedly manhandled a voter in Tenali following an argument, police said, adding the voter also retaliated.
At Dalavaipalli village in Railway Kodur constituency, an EVM was destroyed while cars belonging to the ruling party and TDP were damaged, a police official said.
A TDP agent was attacked at Nakkaladinne village in Myduruku constituency, leading to his hospitalisation.
The YSRCP alleged that party agent Suresh Reddy was stabbed at Mandi Krishnapuram village in Chittoor's Gudipala mandal.It also alleged that TDP supporters attacked party member B Anji Reddy at Aravallipadu in Darsi constituency.
TDP MLC Mohammed Ahmed Shariff wrote a letter to Chief Electoral Officer Mukesh Kumar Meena, complaining about alleged attacks by YSRCP cadres on TDP supporters at Rentala village in Rentichintala mandal of Palnadu district.
Uttar Pradesh witnessed instances of poll boycott with people in some villages of Shahjahanpur keeping away from the process to protest against lack of roads and development.
In West Bengal, there were complaints of EVM malfunctioning, agents being stopped from entering polling booths and voters being either threatened or stopped from going to cast their votes in different constituencies.
The TMC lodged around 139 complaints while the BJP over 35, party sources said.
“We have received 350 complaints, of which 99 were disposed of. Our officials in the respective constituencies are looking into the others. They will be resolved quickly,” an official said.
EVM glitches were also reported in several places in Odisha. An official said 65 Ballot Units (BU), 83 Control Units (CU) and 110 VVPATs have been replaced so far and most of the replacements were done during the mock poll exercise before starting of real voting at 7 am.
The Election Commission suspended two polling officials in Odisha for dereliction of duty, Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Nikunja Bihari Dhal said.
In neighbouring Jharkhand, security forces thwarted an attempt by Maoists to obstruct voter access to polling booths by felling a tree and blocking a road leading to remote Sonapi and Morangponga areas of West Singhbhum district.
Voting was progressing peacefully in Jammu and Kashmir where three generations of the Abdullah family cast their vote in Srinagar Lok Sabha constituency.
- 13 May 2024 1:00 PM IST
Odisha: EC suspends 2 polling officials
The Election Commission (EC) has suspended two polling officials in Odisha for dereliction of duty, Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Nikunja Bihari Dhal said in Bhubaneswar on Monday.
One polling official from Narla Assembly constituency in Kalahandi district and another polling official in Ganjam district have been suspended for dereliction of duty, he said.
"We are monitoring the poll process in our webcasting room. A minor group clash-like incident was reported from Chikiti area in Ganjam district. I have personally spoken to SP Berhampur and Ganjam Collector and asked them to ensure that the polling goes on smoothly in Berhampur LS constituency eespecially in the Chikiti area," Dhal told media persons.
- 13 May 2024 1:00 PM IST
Jharkhand: Security forces thwart Maoist bid to block voter access to polling booths
Security forces on Monday thwarted an attempt by Maoists to obstruct voter access to polling booths by felling a tree and blocking a road leading to remote Sonapi and Morangponga areas of West Singhbhum district, officials said.
"We received reports of Maoists blocking a road with a felled tree near Sonapi to hinder voters from reaching booth numbers 24 and 25 in Chotanagar police station area, which collectively accommodate 1,522 voters. We ensured that voters were able to cast their ballots, resulting in a turnout of 50.94% and 15.43% respectively in these two booths by 10:30 am," West Singhbhum deputy commissioner and district election officer Kuldeep Chaudhary told PTI.
