Civic body polls: Haryana reports around 55% voter turnout

Chandigarh: Haryana recorded an overall voter turnout of 55% in the elections held across seven civic bodies of the state on Sunday. The Sonipat municipal corporation reported the lowest polling, while the Sampla municipal committee in Rohtak district recorded the highest voter turnout.The fate of 777 candidates, including 29 contenders for mayoral posts and 38 for presidential posts of municipal council and municipal committees, was locked in the EVMs. Counting will be held on May 12.After polling, the EVMs were shifted to designated strong rooms amid heavy security.According to the election commission dashboard, total polling was recorded at 54.2% by 7:30 pm on Sunday, with 4,73,378 out of 8,73,177 people casting their votes across 817 booths in six districts.Sampla topped the polling chart with 79.5%, followed by Uklana (75.7%). The lowest voter turnout was recorded at 47.4%.Barring a few incidents of technical glitches or allegations by voters at Rewari, Uklana and Sampla, and some stray arguments among the party workers, the voting went on peacefully.As the state election commission (SEC) is compiling the report, the final polling percentage is expected to be consolidated during late evening hours or by Monday morning.Devender Kalyan, state election commissioner, said everything went off peacefully. Any issues or complaints raised during the voting were sorted out, and some were subjected to further scrutiny, he added.During the election process, the state election commissioner also inspected various polling stations in Panchkula and reviewed the polling arrangements, security measures and voter facilities.During the inspection, Kalyan directed officers to ensure that the voting process was conducted in a completely fair, peaceful and transparent manner and that every voter could exercise their franchise without any inconvenience.Elections were held for the municipal corporations of Ambala, Panchkula and Sonipat, the Rewari municipal council and the municipalities of Dharuhera, Sampla and Uklana.Also, byelections for wards of various municipal areas of the state were conducted on Sunday.Similarly, under the panchayati raj institutions, general elections and bypolls for various posts of zila parishad, panchayat samiti, sarpanch and panch were conducted in different districts.Kalyan said the Election Commission continuously monitors every stage of the election process. With the coordination of the district administration, the police administration, and officers concerned, the voting process was completed successfully. Special arrangements were made at all polling stations to maintain security, law and order, voter convenience and compliance with the Model Code of Conduct, he added.He further said special monitoring was carried out at sensitive and highly sensitive polling stations to ensure free and fair voting. Micro observers were appointed wherever required, and arrangements such as videography and other monitoring measures were also ensured at polling stations.MSID:: 130993935 413 |