The voter turnout on Monday in Phase 4 of polling in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections was recorded at 64 per cent, even as this round of polling again witnessed incidents of violence in West Bengal and EVM (electronic voting machine) glitches in several states.
A Congress worker was stabbed to death in Odisha, a poll official said. Three polling personnel were suspended for violation of norms in Odisha, where the fourth and final phase of polling was conducted today in 6 Lok Sabha and 41 assembly constituencies.
This phase of polling involving altogether 72 Lok Sabha seats spread across 9 states is considered to be crucial for the ruling BJP, which had swept these seats in 2014 general elections. The BJP had won 56 of these 72 constituencies in the 2014 elections.
In the Hindi heartland states, where the BJP had won 30 of 32 such seats in 2014, 62 per cent turnout was recorded in Rajasthan (13 seats), 53.12 per cent in Uttar Pradesh (13 seats) and 65.86 per cent in Madhya Pradesh (6 seats).
READ | Lok Sabha Elections 2019 Phase 4 Live Updates
West Bengal recorded a high turnout at 76.47 per cent in 8 seats, even as clashes broke out between supporters of rival parties in Nanoor, Rampurhat, Nalhati and Suri areas of Birbhum seat that left several people wounded.
The ruling Trinamul (TMC) and the BJP accused each other of intimidating voters in Bengal, which had witnessed violence in all the three earlier phases despite massive deployment of central forces.
Some TMC workers allegedly vandalised the vehicle of Union minister and BJP’s Asansol candidate Babul Supriyo when he was visiting polling booths. An FIR was also lodged against Supriyo, who allegedly entered into a polling booth forcibly along with his security guards.
In Dubrajpur, central security personnel reportedly opened fire in the air to disperse irate people who attacked them when they were barred from entering the booths with mobile phones.
In Odisha, violence was reported from several places. A Congress worker was stabbed to death in Balikuda-Erasama are of Jagatsinghpur seat while he was returning from a polling booth. The victim, Lachman Behera, had recently quit the BJD to join the Congress, officials said.
Clashes between supporters of the ruling BJD and the BJP were reported from Jajpur Kendrapara and Balasore Lok Sabha seats amid allegations of poll-rigging.
Monday’s round marked the start of polling in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, even as the general elections came to an end in Maharashtra and Odisha.
READ | Poll violence in West Bengal: Babul Supriyo’s car vandalised
Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Madhya Pradesh, V L Kantha Rao said during a mock-poll, EVMs were replaced at 207 polling booths due to glitches. EVMs were also replaced at 106 polling booths after the voting began.
About 52 per cent voting was recorded in Maharashtra (17 seats), 64.05 per cent in Odisha (6 seats), 53.67 per cent in Bihar (5 seats), and 63.42 per cent in Jharkhand (3 seats), according to EC figures till 6 pm.
In Kulgam district of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K)’s Anantnag constituency,10.3 per cent polling was recorded amid isolated incidents of stone pelting. This was the second of the three-phase polling in this sensitive constituency.
Bollywood celebrities and industrialists lined up outside polling stations along with common people in Mumbai, where polling was held in 6 constituencies. Bollywood stars including Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Aamir Khan, Rekha, Madhuri Dikshit, and Priyanka Chopra were among these voters.
There were complaints of glitches in EVMs and VVPAT machines from some polling booths in Maharashtra.
In Uttar Pradesh, EVMs malfunctioned in various parts of the state. The Opposition Samajwadi Party also alleged that in Kannauj ~ from where SP chief Akhislesh Yadav’s wife and sitting MP Dimple Yadav is contesting ~ several party workers were prevented from coming out of their homes to vote.
In Kanpur, BJP workers allegedly tried to barge into a polling booth and clashed with the police. A case has been registered against BJP leader Suresh Awasthi and six others in this connection, Kanpur district magistrate Vijay Vishwas Pant said.
Some prominent candidates who were in the fray in Phase 4 included ex-Union ministers from the Congress, Salman Khurshid (Farrukhabd) and Sriprakash Jaiswal (Kanpur), and the UP minister Satyadev Pachauri of the BJP (Kanpur).
In Bihar, voting was delayed due to EVM malfunctioning at three polling stations in Munger, two booths in Darbhanga, and three polling stations in Begusarai from where the CPI’s Kanhaiya Kumar and Union minister Giriraj Singh (BJP) are fighting the poll.
In Odisha, technical glitches in EVMs delayed polling in 60 booths in Phase 4, officials said.
The elections to 542 Lok Sabha constituencies in the country are being conducted in seven phases between 11 April and 19 May. The votes will be counted and results declared on 23 May.
(With PTI)