Lok Sabha election Phase 6: 62.02% voter turnout recorded; violence mars West Bengal again

Voter turnout of 62.02 per cent was recorded as millions came out to vote in the sixth phase of the Lok Sabha elections. The sixth phase of the Lok Sabha election was held in 59 parliamentary constituencies spread across seven states – Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, West Bengal, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi and Jharkhand. Amid widespread violence in the sixth phase of polling on Sunday in West Bengal, 80.16 per cent of the electorate voted. A Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) worker, identified as Ramen Singh (30) from Gopiballabpur in Jhargram constituency, sustained a grievous head injury after being hit with an iron rod. He was rushed to a hospital where he was declared dead. In West Midnapore district’s Ghatal, BJP candidate Bharati Ghosh was forced to take shelter inside a temple beside the Keshpur police station after being heckled and chased by Trinamool supporters, who accused her of instigating disturbance in the area. The 10 Lok Sabha Haryana recorded a voter percentage of 64.72 per cent, with Kurukshetra and Hisar constituencies witnessing brisk polling. In Delhi, on the other hand, 57.50 per cent of the electorate voted. Uttar Pradesh recorded the lowest with 54.17 per cent turnout.

Complaints about malfunctioning EVMs poured in from several places in Delhi where voting is underway. Aam Aadmi Party’s Malviya Nagar MLA Somnath Bharti alleged that EVMs at booths 116, 117 and 122 were not functioning. “EVM in booth 132, Hauzrani is showing 50 votes without anyone casting any vote in the machine n EVMs at booths 116,117, 122 in Malviya Nagar not functioning,” Bharti tweeted. Delhi Chief Electoral Officer Ranbir Singh said 5.5 per cent EVMs were replaced in the morning in the capital city after the EVMs were found defective during the mock polls. The official voting time is from 7 am to 6 pm, but it is expected to go well beyond that as polling started a bit late at some places, the officials said. President Ram Nath Kovind, Vice President Venkaiah Naidu, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Congress chief Rahul Gandhi, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, former CM and Congress’s North-East Delhi candidate Sheila Dikshit were among the prominent people who voted in Delhi in the sixth phase of the Lok Sabha election. In Uttar Pradesh’s Azamgarh Lok Sabha constituency, a presiding officer was removed following complaints by the Samajwadi Party (SP) workers. A report has been sought from the district magistrate, state Chief Electoral Officer L Venkateshwar Lu said. In Bhadohi, BJP MLA Dinanath Bhaskar allegedly beat up a presiding officer in the Aurai assembly segment, accusing the official of deliberately slowing the polling process. The incident took place at a primary school in Lakshmana village. No untoward incident was reported from any part of Jharkhand, an election official said. The state recorded a voter turnout of 64.50 per cent. The votes polled in the sixth phase of the Lok Sabha election will be counted on May 23.