E-Paper
Chandigarh voters brave heat, record 52% turnout till 3pm
Election Commission says Chandigarh recorded 40% polling at 1pm and 25% in the first four hours since voting began at 7am; pace likely to pick up in evening
Voters braved the sweltering heat to exercise their franchise in the Chandigarh Lok Sabha constituency that reported a turnout of 52.61% till 3pm.
Voting slowed down in the afternoon with the city recording 43.5°C at 2.30pm. Long queues seen in the morning vanished at several polling stations. According to the Election Commission, Chandigarh recorded 40% polling at 1pm and 25% in the first four hours since voting began at 7am.
An estimated 6.59 lakh voters are to decide the fate of 19 candidates in the race for the Chandigarh parliamentary seat. The main contest is between Manish Tewari of the Congress and Sanjay Tandon of the BJP in the last and seventh phase of the Lok Sabha elections.
In the 2019 parliamentary election, 74% of electors had voted in Chandigarh.
The Congress and Aam Aadmi Party are jointly fighting this election as partners in the INDIA bloc.
The poll officials said voters in colonies were more enthusiastic than residents of upscale sectors.
The turnout is expected to pick up after 4pm.
Drinking water, ‘chabeel (sweetened water)’, medical kits, oral rehydration solution (ORS) and the likes have been arranged at polling stations given the heat wave conditions, officials said.
Chandigarh is reeling under severe heat wave for a week. The city recorded its highest-ever temperature of 46.7°C on two Wednesday and Friday. The temperature has been six degrees above normal for a week.
