E-Paper
Haryana polls: Kalka logs 71% polling, Panchkula lags at 59%
Polling started slowly at 7 am, before picking up pace till noon; at 65%, district records only a slight dip in turnout from 2019
Barring minor skirmishes among supporters and a few EVM glitches, polling for the Haryana assembly elections in Panchkula district reflected a vibrant democratic spirit, with 65% voters turning out to determine the next MLAs from Panchkula and Kalka, a slight dip from the 65.74% turnout in 2019.
Kalka saw a strong voter turnout of 71% among its 2.02 lakh registered voters across 225 polling stations, while Panchkula trailed at 59%, with 230 polling stations set up for 2.36 lakh voters.
The voting percentage dipped in both segments since 2019, when Kalka had registered a 72.46% voting percentage and Panchkula 60.03%.
A total of 17 candidates contested from the two segments — 10 from Panchkula and 7 from Kalka — with the contest primarily between the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party, and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) positioning itself as a strong challenger to the traditional power dynamics.
Although polling got off to a slow start at 7 am, voters surged till afternoon, with only a few trickling in thereafter for the rest of the day.
“Rush was witnessed till 10 am, but after that people arrived in small batches,” said a security personnel deployed at a polling booth. “Residents used the EQMS mobile app to check the queue length at polling stations and thus arrived accordingly,” added officials.
Panchkula Congress candidate Chander Mohan, along with his family, cast his vote in Sector 8, Panchkula, while BJP candidate Gian Chand Gupta voted in Sector 17 and AAP candidate Prem Garg in Sector 9.
Congress’ nominee from Kalka Pardeep Chaudhary polled his vote at Devi Nagar, while his rival from BJP Shakti Rani Sharma voted in Ambala.
While BJP candidate Gian Chand Gupta, the incumbent MLA from Panchkula, expressed confidence in scoring a hat-trick, his arch-rival from Congress Chander Mohan declared the Congress will form the next government in Haryana, as “people had voted for state’s progress and development”.
Deputy commissioner and district election officer Yash Garg said, “65% voting took place in the district. A total of 455 polling stations were set up for 4.38 lakh voters.”
The deputy commissioner informed that all polling stations were monitored through video surveillance throughout the day. Polling stations were inspected sporadically and arrangements were also reviewed. “The voting process completed peacefully and fairly at all polling stations in the district. Polling parties are depositing the EVMs and documents of their respective booths in the strong rooms of their respective assembly constituencies,” he added.
The EVMs were moved to strong rooms at Government College, Sector 14, Panchkula, for Kalka assembly and at Government College, Sector 1, Panchkula, for Panchkula assembly. Garg said counting of votes will take place on October 8. The counting centre of Kalka segment has been set up at Government College, Sector 14, Panchkula, and that of Panchkula segment at Government College, Sector 1, Panchkula.
Polling was delayed at Booth Number 185 in Fatehpur village, Sector 20, Panchkula, as an EVM did not work. Similar glitch was reported from Booth Number 151 at Rajiv Colony. Even after the EVM was repaired, it did not function properly, leading to its sealing and replacement.
Tension prevailed in Sector 17 as high-pitched exchanges erupted between Congress and BJP supporters who roughed up each other. As per information available as Panchkula Congress candidate Chander Mohan’s wife Seema Bishnoi reached a booth in Sector 17, BJP workers raised slogans of “Jai Shree Ram”. The Congress workers responded with “Congress zindabad” and “Chander Mohan zindabad” slogans. Eventually, ACP Surinder Kumar arrived at the spot and eased the situation.
Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) candidate Kshitij Chaudhary, a doctor by profession, alleged he was stopped from entering a booth in Budanpur village by security personnel.
