Phase one of Lok Sabha polls sees 62.37 per cent voter turnout

An aggregate 6237 per cent voter turnout was recorded in phase one of the Lok Sabha polls on Friday the Election Commission EC saidWhile the figures were issued after the conclusion of polls the commission said people who were in the queue when voting ended at 6 pm were allowed to exercise their franchiseldquoThe voting percentage is likely to go upwards when reports from all polling stations are obtained as polling is scheduled till 6 pm in many constituencies Final figures will be known on Saturday after the scrutiny of form 17Ardquo the EC saidPolling took place in 102 constituencies across 21 states and Union Territories in the first of the sevenphase electionsThe commission described the turnout as ldquohighrdquo noting that voting remained ldquolargely peacefulrdquo while an accidental explosion of a grenade launcher shell in Chhattisgarh left a CRPF jawan deadIn the first phase of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections the voter turnout was recorded at 6943 per cent Some of the constituencies were different then and the total number of seats which went to polls were 91States including Uttarakhand Arunachal Pradesh Sikkim Meghalaya Nagaland Mizoram Tamil Nadu and the Union Territories of Puducherry Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep completed their voting process on Friday in the singlephase electionFor the first time people in 56 villages in Bastar in Chhattisgarh cast their vote in polling booths set up in their own villagesThe poll authority pointed out that in Andaman and Nicobar Islands voters belonging to the tribal communities came out in large numbers The Shompen tribe of Great Nicobar made history by casting vote for the first timeVoters braved the heat in most parts of the country while at others they waited patiently in pouring rainMinor EVM glitches were reported at some booths in Tamil Nadu Arunachal Pradesh Andaman and Nicobar Islands and AssamElection officials said the turnout in West Bengal was 7757 per cent till 5 pm Assam 7077 per cent and Meghalaya 6991 per cent while voters in six districts of eastern Nagaland stayed indoors following an indefinite shutdown call by an apex body of tribal organisations to press for its demand for a separate stateIn West Bengal polling was marred by violence in the Cooch Behar seat TMC and BJP workers clashed with each other and lodged 80 and 39 complaints respectively related to poll violence voter intimidation and assault on poll agents sources from both parties saidIn strifetorn Manipur around an impressive turnout of 6746 per cent till 5 pm was recordedAn altercation broke out between locals and unidentified persons in Thongju assembly constituency under the Inner Manipur Lok Sabha seatIn Chhattisgarh 6341 per cent voters cast their votes in the Naxalhit Bastar Lok Sabha constituency where the CRPF jawan after the grenade accidentally went off while an officer was injured in an IED blast in another incidentIn Tamil Nadu where polling is spread over 39 constituencies a voting percentage of over 6320 was recordedVoting was delayed by an hour in some polling booths in the state such as the one near Tambaram due to technical glitches in the electronic voting machinesArunachal Pradesh saw over 60 per cent of the total 892694 voters exercising their franchiseThough the turnout was moderate in the morning hours due to inclement weather it gathered momentum with weather conditions improvingIn a few polling stations in the state polling was delayed as the electronic voting machines EVMs developed technical snags which were later replaced Chief Electoral Officer Pawan Kumar Sain saidSupporters of two candidates clashed near a polling station in the Bameng constituency in East Kameng district Inspector General of Police Law amp Order Chukhu Apa said adding the situation was brought under control and polling is continuingIncidents of EVM damage were also reported from three polling stations in some districts the police officer saidAndaman and Nicobar Islands saw a voting percentage of 5687 per centThere were some minor EVM glitches but it was addressed immediately officials saidTentative figures taken from the ECI website at the time of pressThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever