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LS polls: 57% turnout in phase four
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Zeenews Bureau
New Delhi, May 07: Voter turn out was better in phase four of election with 57% electorate casting their ballot for 85 LS seats but the polling was marred by clashes mainly in West Bengal, including reports of five dead in poll-related violence.
Though the beginning of the day was sluggish, more voters turned out in the latter part of the day. "Overall, for all the states, we can put the voter turnout tentatively at 57 percent. There are still voters in queue at West Bengal, so we will get a final figure later," Deputy Election Commissioner R Balakrishnan told reporters Thursday evening.
The fourth and penultimate phase had voting in 85 parliamentary constituencies in seven states and a union territory.
The highest voting percentage was witnessed in West Bengal where a whopping 75 percent of the electorate exercised their franchise. The lowest voter turnout was in Jammu and Kashmir at 24 percent - which nevertheless was an improvement from 18.57 percent in 2004.
`Close fight between NDA, UPA`
Meanwhile, the Congress and the BJP both said they would win the Lok Sabha election.
"This election will be a close fight between the NDA (National Democratic Alliance) and the UPA (United Progressive Alliance)," Congress leader Satyavrat Chaturvedi admitted candidly, referring to the Congress-led UPA and the NDA led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
"No single party will be in a position to form a government on its own. It will be a coalition government," Chaturvedi said.
BJP president Rajnath Singh was more assertive in his claim, saying the NDA was poised to get a majority. But he did not assert that the BJP would earn the mandate on its own.
Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and former president A.P.J. Abdul Kalam were among the millions who voted. Gandhi voted in the New Delhi Lok Sabha constituency along with Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and promptly flashed her inked index finger. But she did not speak to journalists.
Violence in WB, J-K & Rajasthan
Two people were killed in West Bengal and stray incidents of violence were also reported from Rajasthan as well as Jammu and Kashmir, but the exercise involving 1,315 candidates and 85 constituencies was otherwise largely peaceful.
Stray incidents of stone throwing and capturing of polling booths were reported in Dausa and Alwar constituencies in Rajasthan. Two people were killed in two separate incidents in West Bengal, where the Communists are facing a formidable challenge from the Congress and Trinamool Congress.
A CPI(M) worker was killed in a bomb attack by
unidentified persons in Jangipur, where Congress stalwart
Pranab Mukherjee is in fray and a voter was killed and eight
persons, including three policemen, were injured in Asansol
Lok Sabha constituency in Burdwan district when armed men
opened fire.
One person--stated to be a CPI(M) worker--was killed in
an attack allegedly by Trinamool Congress at Amta of Howrah
district after the polling. Amta CPI(M) MLA Prattyush
Mukherjee claimed the deceased was his party activist.
One person was killed when paramilitary personnel opened
fire to prevent a mob from capturing a booth at Olwara village
in Rajasthan`s Sawaimadhopur district.
A clash between rival political groups left one person
dead in Nandigram, the epicentre of anti-farmland acquisition
agitation led by Trinamool Congress but it could not be
ascertained which party be belonged to.
EC has sought a report on the same. "We have asked for a detailed report from the chief electoral officer of West Bengal on the violent incidents in the state," said Balakrishnan.
Higher turn out
Total turn out was 57%, better than the 50% of phase three.
Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan: 50%
West Bengal: 75%
Punjab: 65%
Haryana: 63%
Bihar: 37%
J&K: 24%
The day`s high-profile candidates included External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee (Congress) and former chief ministers Mulayam Singh Yadav (Samajwadi Party), Rajnath Singh (BJP), Lalu Prasad (Rashtriya Janata Dal) and Farooq Abdullah (National Conference).
IANS inputs
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