Modest Polling till Noon in Maha, Harayana, Arunachal amid Violence

Modest voting was recorded in the Assembly elections in Maharashtra, Haryana and Arunachal Pradesh till noon amid stray incidents of violence in which a polling agent was killed.

In Maharashtra and Haryana, more than 20 per cent electorates cast their votes, while in Arunachal Pradesh, greater turnout of 25 per cent was recorded, said poll officials.

A violent incident took place in Gulha assembly constituency in Haryana’s Kaithal district when a polling agent was killed in a clash between supporters of Congress nominee Dillu Ram and Independent candidate Kulwant Bazigar, said police officials.

The 48-year-old deceased, Jyoti Ram, was Bazigar’s polling agent.

While in another violent incidence in Gadhchiroli district of Maharashtra where 17 policemen were shot dead by the Maoists on October 8, rebels, a short time before voting began, opened fire at a patrol party near Kasansur in Aheri block.

Police said that nobody was injured in the firing and that security forces didn’t retaliate.

In yet another incident, Maoists opened fire at a polling station at Bonde in Korchi taluka of the district. Nobody was hurt in the firing, however, addition forces were sent by an air force chopper to Bonde, said Manoj Sharma, ASP, Gadchiroli.

Over 1.29 lakh state police and central forces have been deployed across the state where voting is being held for 288 Assembly seats, DGP (Elections) A N Roy said.

Meanwhile, an FIR was registered against three-time Congress MLA Janardhan Chandurkar for allegedly violating the Model Code of Conduct by trying to influence voters by distributing money in suburban Bandra in Mumbai, police said.

Among the early voters in Maharashtra were Union Ministers Sharad Pawar and Vilasrao Deshmukh, industrialist Anil Ambani, Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray and cricketer Sachin Tendulkar.