Pilibhit witness 5.29% less turnout this year

PILIBHIT: The voting percentage in the Lok Sabha polls has fallen in Pilibhit, with the constituency recording 61.91% turnout on Friday. The district registered a dip of 5.29% this year, compared to the 2019 elections (67.2%).

The Pilibhit Lok Sabha area comprises five assembly constituencies including four in the district -- Pilibhit city, Barkhera, Bisalpur, Puranpur, and one of district Bareilly – Baheri. All segments witnessed a low voting percentage in the first phase compared to last time.

The district administration and social institutions, schools, and colleges had exerted immense efforts and energy in motivating voters to exercise their right to vote. However, the hot weather, boycott of voting in four villages, and suspended voting at over half a dozen polling booths for hours due to complaints of defects in EVMs, affected the overall voting percentage.

Notably, villagers in Puraina under Bisalpur assembly constituency segment, Bakshpur and Mangadpur on the outskirts of Pilibhit district headquarters, and Inyatpur under Baheri assembly constituency segment of Bareilly district boycotted the elections over various unaddressed issues. These problems include absence of a bridge over river Devha, blockaded village road, menace of big cats and stray cattle, and lack of electricity transformer. Around 800 voters of Puraina could not be convinced even by administrative officials.

The hot weather was another factor liable for dispiriting the voters from turning up to vote. The inflow of voters at polling booths was normal between 7am and 11am, and later after 3pm, when the mercury dropped.