Voting for 10 Lok Sabha seats and one assembly seat in Haryana held in the penultimate phase of the General Elections went off peacefully on Saturday. Over 56 per cent polling was recorded till 5pm, officials said.

A 2.76 crore-strong electorate including 1.06 crore men, 94.23 lakh women and 467 transgender voters will send 10 MPs to Parliament.

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DC Gurugram posted on X, ”We are very thankful to you for being a part of this biggest event in any democracy even in adverse weather conditions. The administration is fully concerned about the inconveniences you are facing and we are putting constant efforts to resolve them. We do understand some technical issues and some behavioral issues which were raised by you and they are being worked upon. We are apologetic to you and we assure that all above issues are going to be fixed in the meantime. We are again thanking you all for the same. ”

After casting his vote in Karnal, Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini appealed to people to come out and vote in large numbers.

“Today I paid obeisance at the historic Gurudwara Manji Sahib in Karnal… Today, Haryana votes for the sixth phase of the elections…I also offered prayers at the Mahadev temple…I appeal to the public of Haryana to come out in large numbers and participate in this festival of democracy…Under the leadership of PM Modi in the past 10 years, a new India has been formed…India has touched new heights of development in the past 10 years….,” he said.

Former Chief Minister of Haryana Manohar Lal Khattar also cast his vote in Karnal. He said “Congress candidate is not a challenge for me”.

Former Haryana Minister Anil Vij cast his vote in Ambala while BJP candidate from Rohtak Lok Sabha seat Dr Arvind Sharma also exercised his franchise in Jhajjar.

He said “…We are getting complaints from some polling booths. Some are trying to indulge in snatching but the administration is alert and doing their work. I am hopeful that Lotus will bloom.”

Former Haryana CM and Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda voted at a polling station in his native village Sanghi in Rohtak.

“There is a wave in favour of Congress,” he said. His son and Congress candidate from the Rohtak Lok Sabha seat, Deepender Singh Hooda cast his vote. He expressed the hope that the Congress will win the Rohtak seat. ”The people of Haryana have decided to bring change for their future and to save the Constitution…,” he said.

JJP leader and former Deputy CM of Haryana Dushyant Chautala showed his inked finger after casting his vote at a polling booth in Sirsa in the state. He said, “I appeal to people to come out and exercise their right to vote and vote for the change…”

JJP candidate from Gurgaon and singer Rahul Yadav cast his vote after planting trees at the polling station and offering prayers at a temple.

Sisters of Prajapita Brahma Kumari Ishwariya Vishwavidyalaya, Rohtak, also voted enthusiastically and appealed to everyone that everyone should exercise his right to vote, it is the responsibility of every citizen to vote.

Dronacharya awardee and wrestling coach Mahavir Singh Phogat cast his vote at a polling centre in Charkhi Dadri.

In Gurugram, BJP candidate Rao Inderjeet Singh, who is pitted against Congress’ Raj Babbar, came with his family to cast vote. ”I became a part of the great festival of democracy and performed my duty by voting with my family. I appeal to all of you to please cast your vote.”

Early voters were welcomed with balloons in Haryana. Several centres had laid out red carpet to welcome the voters while few had set up selfie points to grace the occasion. Enthusiasm was visible among voters at the pink booth in Gurugram’s Heritage Society.

To conduct the Lok Sabha elections peacefully, police were deployed at various places in 1,333 booths of Gurugram district. People voted under tight security arrangements. Voters were being allowed inside after security checks at polling stations and made to keep their mobile phones outside.

At the same time, sensitive polling stations are being monitored with drones. However, no booth in the city is sensitive. All sensitive booths have been set up in the areas of Sohna, Nuh, Firozpur Jhirka and Punhana where Paramilitary force units have been deployed.

Many residents in Gurugram alleged that they had to return without casting their vote due to the non-functioning of the EVMs in Sector 69, Suncity Township, Sector 50, Sector 56 and Sector 48.

“I returned home after waiting for two hours at booth 199 in Sector 14. I reached there at 7am and left at 10.15am. It was difficult to stand in a long queue waiting for my turn to come,” said Amrit Singh, a resident of Sector 14.

Another resident, Dhirendra Kumar Singh, said that the polling booth at Naurangpur village in Sector 79 was poorly managed.

“More than 100 people were standing in each line and it took more than three hours for one individual. I returned without voting and will try again after 3 pm,” he said.

The DC said since morning they have provided a pick and drop facility to 300 senior citizens and people with disabilities.

The residents started reaching polling booths by 7am and the condominiums witnessed a good response.

Condominiums and plotted societies where polling stations have been set up include Heritage City, Vipul Greens, Sare Homes, Sahara Grace, Valley View Apartments, Essel Towers, Vatika City, Sushant Estate, Kendriya Vihar and Jalvayu Towers, among others, which are located along the Golf Course Road, Sohna Road, MG Road, Southern Peripheral Road and Dwarka Expressway.

Fast-track entry was facilitated for the voters on wheel-chair while a lot of momentum was seen at Badshahpur in Gurugram. A couple among voters complained that husband and wife’s polling centres were changed and kept separate this time.

One of the women voters coming out of the school in the Badshahpur area, expressed happiness with the experience. She said,”It was such a super quick visit at the voting booth. No long queues at all because of multiple booths.”

Another voter said, ”I went and they called me in … awesome experience !” But in Sispal Vihar centre in Gurugram, there was a queue and slow process initially.