High voter turnout in 91 seats in LS polls, crosses the 2009 mark

NEW DELHI (TIP): Marking a considerably high voter turnout as compared to the 2009 Lok Sabha elections, India voted for 91 constituencies in 14 states and Union Territories which went to polls in the third and substantial phase on April 10, with Chandigarh witnessing the highest percentage of 74.

The national capital of Delhi, too, recorded a 64 per cent voter turnout in the mega-battle for seven Lok Sabha seats where a faction-ridden BJP tried to sail on ‘Modi wave’ while AAP and Congress attempted to regain the lost ground. A substantial increase of 12 per cent was seen in the voter turn in Delhi as compared to the 2009 polls. Muzaffarnagar and Shamli in Uttar Pradesh, which witnessed communal riots in August 2013, recorded “above average” voter turnout of 67.78 per cent and 70.85 per cent, respectively.

The 10 seats of Uttar Pradesh, which went to polls on Thursday, reported a record turnout of 65 per cent as compared to 51.30 per cent recorded in the last LS polls. The turnout in Delhi was 64 per cent, up by 12 per cent as against 2009 elections. Chandigarh constituency recorded the highest turnout of 74 per cent, against 64 per cent in 2009 polls. Kerala, which went to polls in single phase, recorded 73.4 per cent voter turnout, up from 73.2 per cent last time. Chhattisgarh’s Bastar seat witnessed the lowest voter turnout among the 91 seats of 51.4 per cent.

But it was higher as compared to 47.33 per cent recorded in the last LS polls. There was a voter turnout between 67 and 55.9 per cent for the 21 Lok Sabha seats in three states and a union territory, besides 70 Assembly constituencies in Odisha in eastern India. An estimated 50 per cent of the 191 million electorate had voted in eight hours of brisk polling, with men and women of all age groups queuing up at the 140,850 voting centres from the time they opened at 7 am. EC maintained that the turnout could be “much higher” in all the seats as final reports were yet to come in with voting still on after the stipulated hours in various areas.

Although the polls were mostly peaceful, there were some incidents of violence reported from Chhattisgarh, Odisha and Bihar in Naxal related violence. In Bihar, two Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel were killed when Maoists exploded a concealed land mine in Munger district when they were on their way to neighbouring Jamui where polling was on. Maoists also blasted a school in Bihar’s Lakhisarai district. In Odisha, Maoists snatched EVMs and took away the battery of one voting machine. Though the staggered nine-phase balloting began April 7, the first two rounds involved only 13 constituencies from the country’s northeast where the BJP is not a major player. While the people of India have made their choice, the results will be known when the votes are counted on May 16.

CONSTITUENCY-WISE VOTER TURNOUT FOR LS SEATS IN 2014

BIHAR
1. Sasaram – 54 per cent
2. Karakat – 51 per cent
3. Aurangabad – 47.5 per cent
4. Gaya – 51.64 per cent
5. Nawada – 49 per cent
MAHARASHTRA
1. Buldhana -44 per cent
2. Akola -39 per cent
3. Amravati – 46 per cent
4. Wardha – 42 per cent
5. Ramtek -40.3 per cent
6. Nagpur – 48 per cent
7. Bhandara-Gondiya – 53 per cent
8. Gadchiroli-Chimur – 59 per cent
9. Chandrapur -43.49 per cent
10. Yavatmal-Washim -40 per cent
JAMMU & KASHMIR
1. Jammu – 68 per cent
CHHATTISGARH
1. Bastar – 47 per cent
UTTAR PRADESH
1. Saharanpur – 68.40 per cent
2. Kairana – 64.90 per cent
3. Muzaffarnagar – 63.53 per cent
4. Bijnor – 62.96 per cent
5. Meerut – 60.50 per cent
6. Baghpat – 61.52 per cent
7. Ghaziabad – 60.20 per cent
8. Gautam buddha nagar – 47.20 per cent
9. Bulandshahar – 61.60 per cent
10. Aligarh – 55.60 per cent
DELHI
1. Chandni chowk – 66.8 per cent
2. West Delhi – 65.64 per cent
3. East Delhi – 65.59 per cent
4. South Delhi – 62.67 per cent
5. Northwest Delhi – 61.38 per cent
6. North-East Delhi – 67.08 per cent
HARYANA
1. Ambala – 70.7 per cent
2. Kurukshetra – 75.8 per cent
3. Sirsa – 76 per cent
4. Gurgaon – 70.02 per cent
5. Faridabad – 60.08 per cent
JHARKHAND
1. Chatra – 53.88 per cent
2. Kodarma – 60.97 per cent
3. Lohardaga – 59 per cent
4. Palamau – 59.30 per cent
LAKSHADWEEP
1. Lakshadweep – 71.36 per cent
ANDAMAN & NICOBAR ISLANDS
1. Andaman & Nicobar Island – 70 per cent
MADHYA PRADESH
1. Satna -53.77 per cent
2. Rewa -53.99 per cent
3. Sidh -56.45 per cent
4. Shahdol -60.79 per cent
5. Jabalpur -48.14 per cent
6. Mandla -65.53 per cent
7. Balaghat -62.52 per cent
8 Chhindwara -70.93 per cent
9. Hoshangabad -65.01 per cent

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