Lok Sabha elections 2019: 69% pollingin Haryana, turnout dips in Capital

Poll officials in Rohtak prohibited the movement of BJP minister Manish Grover, literally putting him under house arrest, after Congress nominee Deepender Hooda accused him of ‘booth capturing’ and lodged a complaint against him.

BJP candidate Bharati Ghosh was attacked in West Bengal and a poll officer was allegedly beaten up by an MLA of the saffron party in Uttar Pradesh during the Lok Sabha poll’s sixth and penultimate phase on Sunday in which over 63% turnout was recorded in 59 seats across six states and the national capital .

Haryana registered 69% turnout as compared to 71.41% in 2014. Haryana chief electoral officer Rajeev Ranjan said the election process in the entire state remained peaceful.(HT Photo)

Elections were held in 14 seats in Uttar Pradesh, 10 seats in Haryana, eight constituencies each in Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal, four in Jharkhand and seven seats in Delhi where votes were cast by a number of public figures, including President Ram Nath Kovind, Congress chief Rahul Gandhi, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and external affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj.

Haryana registered 69% turnout as compared to 71.41% in 2014. Haryana chief electoral officer Rajeev Ranjan said the election process in the entire state remained peaceful. He said that Sirsa parliamentary constituency recorded the maximum turnout of 73.48% while Karnal recorded the lowest — 64.68%.

Poll officials in Rohtak prohibited the movement of BJP minister Manish Grover, literally putting him under house arrest, after Congress nominee Deepender Hooda accused him of ‘booth capturing’ and lodged a complaint against him. Hooda accused Grover of entering the polling stations in Rohtak assembly segment in violation of the law and Election Commission guidelines.

The police also registered two cases— one against the presiding officer of a polling booth in Rewasan village in Nuh segment, Mohammad Shahid, for exercising undue influence and violating the model code of conduct. A police spokesperson said that another person, Wajid of Pipaka village, was booked in Sohna assembly segment, also under Gurgaon constituency, for his alleged attempt to cast bogus vote.

In Sonepat, four persons were injured after Congress and Indian National Lok Dal workers clashed at Salimsar Majra village. In a separate incident, unidentified persons fired aerial shots at a Balmiki colony in Fatehabad, a part of Sirsa constituency. The police said soon after firing the shot, the miscreants fled the spot.

With today’s polling, votes have already been cast in nearly 89% of the 543 constituencies, while the last phase of voting will take place on May 19 for the remaining 59 seats.

The Election Commission announced 63.3% turnout across the states and Delhi, with West Bengal recording over 80% polling and the national capital registering just 60%.

Delhi’s saw a dip in its turnout from 65% in 2014, despite a three-cornered contest between the BJP, Congress and AAP with
several high profile candidates, while the EC also appeared disappointed at the low polling
figure even after its enhanced efforts to draw the voters to polling booths

Over 80% polling was recorded in eight seats in West Bengal, where BJP’s Ghatal candidate and former IPS officer Bharati Ghosh was attacked twice by local people when she tried to visit polling stations in her constituency.

Ghosh suffered minor injuries when a group of women allegedly attacked her when she tried to take a BJP agent inside a polling booth at Keshpur area, officials said.