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Haryana elections: Voter turnout drops in Panchkula district
The district witnessed a dip of 7% in voter turnout as the twin assembly constituencies of Panchkula and Kalka went to the polls along with the rest of Haryana on
The district witnessed a dip of 7% in voter turnout as the twin assembly constituencies of Panchkula and Kalka went to the polls along with the rest of Haryana on Monday.
In Panchkula, only 59% of the electorate turned up to vote as compared to 65.7% in 2014. Kalka witnessed a sharper decline with the turnout dropping from the highest ever 79.3% recorded in 2014 to 70%.
The district recorded a combined turnout of 65% as compared to 71.8% in the last assembly polls. The district authorities claimed the final figures were yet to be tallied.
“Polling in both constituencies was conducted in a peaceful and fair manner. No untoward incident was reported,” said Panchkula deputy commissioner Mukesh Kumar Ahuja. “The final figure is yet to be ascertained, after which the reason for low turnout would be reviewed.”
This election’s turnout is even lower than that recorded in the Lok Sabha elections held in May this year. While Kalka witnessed 72.8% voting, Panchkula had 65.5%.
Polling took time to pick up as the day progressed. In the first two hours, only about 1% voting was recorded on both seats. Most of the voters were middle-aged and senior citizens with very few young voters seen lining up at polling stations.
There were minor incidents of heated arguments among different party workers reported outside booths in Barwala, Kot Billa, Old Panchkula and Sector 17. According to reports, an EVM machine in Raipur Rani developed a snag around 11am, but it was resolved. Also, four VVPATs each in Panchkula and Kalka developed faults and were changed.
In Panchkula, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s sitting MLA Gian Chand Gupta is pitted against Congress’ Chander Mohan, a four-time MLA and former deputy chief minister, and 12 other candidates.
In Kalka, BJP’s Latika Sharma is vying for a second consecutive term and is contesting against Pardeep Chaudhary of the Congress and eight other candidates.
Gupta cast his vote along with his wife at Vijay Public School in Sector 17, while Chander Mohan exercised his voting right at DAV School, Sector 8, in the morning. Union minister and MP Rattan Lal Kataria turned up at the polling centre in Sector 4, Mansa Devi Complex.
“The response of public was very good. The reason behind low turnout was three consecutive holidays and trade and business being open in Chandigarh and Mohali,” said Gupta.
Leaders from both main parties claimed voters came out in good numbers in rural areas and colonies as compared to urban areas, especially in Panchkula.
