Brisk voting marks Ph-II; Bengal, UP see 2014-like turnouts

NEW DELHI: Voter enthusiasm appeared slightly lower according to initial estimates in the second phase of the general election at around 66%, compared with 69.6% in 2014. But Election Commission officials said the numbers could go up after the final analysis.

Politically crucial Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal recorded similar turnouts when compared with corresponding phases in 2014. UP saw nearly 62% voting on Thursday, almost the same as the 61.77% in 2014. In West Bengal, over 80% of the electorate cast its votes, which is again similar to the 81.55% number seen in 2014.

Even though just eight seats in west UP — Nagina, Amroha, Bulandshahr, Aligarh, Hathras, Mathura, Agra and Fatehpur Sikri — and three in West Bengal — Jalpaiguri, Darjeeling and Raiganj — went to polls, the political fortunes of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party are linked to the trends in both these states.


Bihar, the other key state, recorded over 62% turnout vis-avis 61.93% in 2014. Here, five constituencies — Kishanganj, Katihar, Purnia, Bhagalpur and Banka — went to polls. This was the key phase for chief minister Nitish Kumar as his party, which is in an alliance with the BJP, was contesting on all the five seats.

UP, West Bengal and Bihar are the only three states where elections are being held across all the seven phases.

In Tamil Nadu, all seats barring Vellore — where elections have been countermanded — went to polls on Thursday with the state recording 72% voting by 5 pm, which is again similar to the 2014 number of 73.58%.

Fate of Top Leaders Sealed
This is the first election in Tamil Nadu after the deaths of AIADMK supremo J Jayalalithaa and DMK stalwart M Karunanidhi. Their rivalry, which had defined the state’s politics over the past two decades, has given way to new cast of politicians as well as coalitions with the BJP moving in through a pre-poll alliance with AIADMK.

In the security-sensitive constituency of Srinagar, voter turnout was about 14%, which is 10% lower than the 25.77% in 2014. The elections took place amid strike and boycott calls by Hurriyat leaders. The authorities cut off mobile internet connectivity across the Valley to prevent any flow of misinformation.

The 10 constituencies in Maharashtra saw 62% voting till 6 pm — similar to the 62.6% turnout in 2014.

The fate of some of the top leaders were captured in the electronic voting machines in this phase. These included former home minister and Congress veteran Sushil Kumar Shinde, who is locked in a triangular contest with Prakash Ambedkar in Solapur, former Maharashtra chief minister Ashok Chavan in Nanded, and Pritam Munde, the younger sister of Pankaja Munde, from Beed.

Polling for phase two of simultaneous elections in Odisha saw 64% turnout till 5pm. This included Kandhamal, where Naxals had shot dead a polling personnel on Wednesday.

Polling has been rescheduled at six booths (in Sundargarh, Bargarh and Kandhamal constituencies) where a cross-pairing of VVPATs meant for state polls with Lok Sabha elections caused the machines to malfunction, said chief electoral officer Surendra Kumar.

The 14 Lok Sabha constituencies in Karnataka saw 62% voting till 5 pm, compared with 68.8% voter turnout in 2014.

There was 73.32% polling in 20 of the 25 high-stakes parliamentary constituencies in the North-East — including five seats in Assam — that went to polls on Thursday. The number is expected to increase.