At 65%, Punjab sees 5% dip in turnout
SPORADIC SKIRMISHES Highest polling —73.9%— in Bathinda, Amritsar records a low of 56.3%; 1 dead; Cong, Akali supporters clash in Khadoor Sahib, Talwandi Sabo, Sangrur
CHANDIGARH: About 65% voting was recorded in 13 Lok Sabha seats in Punjab on Sunday amid reports of sporadic skirmishes in which one person was killed and at least a dozen others were left injured.
The polling percentage is low as compared to 70.89% in 2014. The highest turnout (73.9%) was witnessed in Bathinda while Amritsar registered a low of 56.3%. In 2014, Bathinda had recorded a turnout of 70.1% (highest) while Hoshiaprur had witnessed a polling percentage of 64.7.
A 28-year-old labourer, Banti, reported to be a Congress worker, was killed in Hardo Sarli village of the border constituency of Khadoor Sahib when he was attacked with a sharp weapon by three youth of the same village following a row over casting of vote in favour of a party. The police registered a case of murder, but have denied any connection with the parliamentary elections. In Talwandi Sabo, an FIR was registered against Congress leader Khushbash Jatana for firing gunshots and injuring three Akali workers, forcing the election staff to stop polling.
AMRITSAR : The voting turnout in the Majha region of Punjab dipped when compared to the previous Lok Sabha elections in 2014, with the murder of a man and some minor incidents of violence taking place in the three parliamentary constituencies of Amritsar, Gurdaspur and Khadoor Sahib.
The voters in the border belt did not show much enthusiasm this time as only 63.26% of them turned up at polling booths against the last time’s 68%. In the 2009 elections, the turnout was 69.43%. Pathankot, a Hindu-dominated district which is part of the Gurdaspur constituency, witnessed the region’s highest voter turnout at 75%.
In the Amritsar constituency, migrants also voted in large numbers. A large number of migrant labourers live in the city, a hub of trade and business.
Bunty Singh (28), a labourer and reportedly a Congress supporter, was hacked to death by three brothers when he was on his way to cast his vote at Sarli village in Goindwal Sahib sub-division of Tarn Taran district (Khadoor Sahib seat). The police said personal enmity was the reason behind the murder.
Also, minor incidents of violence were reported in the Patti assembly segment and Gurdaspur’s Dera Baba Nanak. BJP’s Gurdaspur candidate Sunny Deol moved around in Dera Baba Nanak and Fatehgarh Churian, home turfs of ministers Sukhjinder Randhawa and Tript Rajinder Bajwa.
At Kotli Muglan village in Pathankot, Congress MLA Joginder Pal allegedly manhandled Rinku Sharma, a local BJP leader who was acting as a polling agent. Glitches in electronic voting machines (EVMs) were reported in some booths. In Amritsar, a snag in an EVM disrupted polling for an hour. The voters at the polling station in a school at Hathi Gate waited for an hour due to a glitch in EVM.