Goa and Punjab today witnessed a huge turnout of voters for the Assembly elections with 83 per cent voters casting their ballots in the coastal state while 70 per cent electorate exercised their franchise in the northern state, the Election Commission said.
“Record voter turnout of 83 per cent recorded in Goa. In north Goa, polling percentage was 84 per cent and in south Goa 81.5 per cent,” Deputy Election Commissioner Umesh Sinha said.
“Voter turnout of 70 per cent (tentative) recorded in Punjab till 5 PM,” the poll official said.
Except for minor incidents of electronic voting machine failures and cancellation of voting in one booth of Punjab, polling in both the state was generally peaceful, the EC said.
Brisk voting took place almost all over Punjab - a state which recorded 78.3 per cent turnout in the 2012 assembly polls - where the ruling BJP-SAD alliance, Congress and new entrant AAP are locked in a bitter triangular fight.
The border state's Malwa belt, which accounts for 69 out of the 117 assembly seats, also saw a heavy voter turnout that could be decisive for any party's victory. The highest turnout was in Sangrur and Fazilka districts at 73 per cent, followed by Mansa and Fatehgarh Sahib districts at 72 per cent. In some assembly seats, the voter turnout was even 75 to 78 per cent till 5 pm.
Amritsar and Ropar districts recorded the lowest turnout at less than 60 per cent, the poll officials said.
Voting at different polling stations in Punjab was disrupted or delayed due to technical snags in electronic voting machines (EVMs).
At stake was the political fate of 1,145 candidates, including 81 women and a lone transgender in Punjab where the Akali Dal-BJP alliance has ruled for two straight terms.
Both Congress and AAP are hoping to cash in from an anti-incumbency factor as surveys point to a cliffhanger between the two parties.
Voting for the by-election to the Amritsar Lok Sabha seat was also held on Saturday.
"Overall Punjab witnessed a peaceful polling without any major incidence of violence and intimidation. There was just one incident in a village in Tarn Taran where supporters of two political parties clashed and one person faced bullet injuries...an FIR has been registered," Sandeep Saxena, deputy election commissioner, said.
Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, 89, his son and Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal and daughter-in-law and Union Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal cast their votes in Badal village, which is part of Badal senior's Lambi assembly constituency.
"We will win easily. Punjab is looking forward to peace and development," the Chief Minister said.
Badal is being challenged for the Lambi seat by Punjab Congress President and former Chief Minister Amarinder Singh and AAP's Jarnail Singh.
Amarinder Singh, accompanied by his wife and former Union Minister of State for External Affairs Preneet Kaur, and other family members, cast his vote in Patiala city.
"I am sure that we (Congress) are winning this election comfortably," Amarinder told the media.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who is the convenor of the AAP, criticised the poll panel for having "completely surrendered" before Prime Minister Modi amid reports of people allegedly visiting polling booths with party symbols and also campaigning on social media and TV on polling day in violation of the model code of conduct. "This is a completely shameless and spineless Election Commission," he tweeted.
Goa saw a high voter turnout of 83 per cent and polling remained peaceful for the 40 assembly seats, compared to 81 in the 2012 polls.
The incumbent BJP is fighting the Congress and AAP in the coastal state where heavy polling was witnessed in the mining belt of Sankhalim, Bicholim and Curchorem.
None of the political parties or groups, except for the AAP, had fielded candidates from all the 40 seats.
The incumbent BJP had put up its nominees on 36 and is supporting two independents.
The assembly elections to be held in five states - Goa, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Manipur - in phased manners through this month till March 8 are the first big electoral test for the Modi-led government since the November 28 note ban.
The note ban move was heavily criticised by the opposition and labelled as a self-inflicted blow on the country's economy that triggered enormous hardship for the people all over.
The BJP and its allies have hailed the move as a surgical strike at tax evasion, black money and corruption that would also herald India into a cashless economy.
Votes for all five states will be counted on March 11.
Highlights:
* Punjab polls: 70 per cent voter turnout; technical glitches, skirmishes at some places
* Goa polls: Heavy 83 per cent voter turnout
* Punjab polls: 67 per cent voter turnout till 3 PM
* Goa polls: 48 per cent voter turnout till 2:30 PM
* Punjab polls: 33 per cent voter turnout till 1 PM
* Goa polls: 53 per cent voter turnout till 1 PM
* Punjab polls: 33 per cent voter turnout till 1 PM
* Goa polls: 53 per cent voter turnout till 1 PM
* Punjab polls: 33 per cent voter turnout till 1 PM
* Goa polls: 53 per cent voter turnout till 1 PM
* Punjab polls: 33 per cent voter turnout till 1 PM
* Goa polls: 53 per cent voter turnout till 1 PM
* Punjab polls: BJP-Akali Dal will win and Parkash Singh Badal will become the CM for the sixth time, says BJP's Hans Raj Hans
* Punjab polls: Will give Rahul Gandhi great gift with Congress' revival, says Navjot Sidhu as he arrives to vote at booth in Amritsar wth wife Navjot Kaur
* Punjab polls: Overall voter turnout of 14 per cent recorded till 11.30 am
* Goa polls: Overall turnout till 11 am - 34 per cent
* Punjab polls: We'll have a bigger win than last year, Amarinder Singh is only drama and AAP is on 3rd position, says Sukhbir Singh Badal
* Goa polls: 15 per cent polling recorded till 9 am (North Goa 16% and South Goa 14%)
* Punjab polls: 9 per cent polling recorded in first two-hour
* Punjab polls: Polling at booth number 66 in Jalandhar delayed due to glitch in the EVM machine
* Goa polls: CM Laxmikant Parsekar casts his vote at a polling booth in North Goa's Arambol
* Punjab polls: Gen JJ Singh (Retd.), SAD candidate against Congress's Amarinder Singh from Patiala Urban, arrives to cast his vote
* Punjab polls: Voting commences, 1145 candidates to contest across 117 seats
* Goa polls: Initial reports suggest good turnout, we expect that Goa might cross last year’s turnout of 84 per cent and BJP will win with 2/3rd majority, says Manohar Parrikar
* Goa polls: Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar stands in queue at polling booth in Panaji to cast his vote
* Goa polls: Assembly election polling for 40 seats in the state begins
* Urging people of Punjab and Goa to turnout in record numbers and vote in Assembly elections. I particularly urge my young friends to vote: PM Narendra Modi
Punjab
The state is witnessing a three-cornered contest between ruling Shiromani Akali Dal-BJP alliance, opposition Congress and new entrant Aam Aadmi Party.
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) has fielded candidates in 94 seats while its ally BJP has nominated candidates in the remaining 23 seats. Congress is contesting alone on all seats. AAP, which is contesting Punjab polls for the first time, has fielded candidates in 112 seats, while its ally Lok Insaf Party, led by Ludhiana-based Bains brothers, has fielded nominees in five seats.
Other political outfits in the fray include BSP, former AAP leader Sucha Singh Chhotepur-led Apna Punjab Party, the Left comprising CPI and CPI-M, and SAD-Amritsar.
About 1.98 crore electors will seal the fate of 1,145 candidates by voting through EVMs during the high-stakes election. Over 200 companies of para-military forces have been deputed for the fair conduct of polls.
The total number of electors in the state is 1,98,79,069, including 93,75,546 females. There are 415 transgender voters as well. The total number of candidates in the fray, include 81 women and one transgender. The polling commenced at 22,615 polling stations in the entire state. While 84 Assembly seats are of general category, 34
are reserved.
In 2012 assembly polls, there were total 1.77 Crore voters and 1,078 candidates, including 93 women contestants. Key contestants who are in the fray include Punjab Congress Chief Amarinder Singh (Patiala and Lambi seats), Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal (Lambi) and his son Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal (Jalalabad).
The other prominent candidates in the polls include Congress veteran and former Chief Minister Rajinder Kaur Bhattal (Lehragagga), Indian Youth Congress Chief Raja Amarinder Singh Warring (Gidderbaha), Badal's estranged nephew Manpreet Singh Badal, who is fighting on a Congress ticket from Bathinda Urban, and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MP Bhagwant Mann (Jalalabad).
Voting for Amritsar Lok Sabha seat by-poll is also being held amid tight security arrangements. The seat fell vacant following the resignation of Amarinder Singh to protest the apex court verdict on Punjab's river waters. The voter strength in Amritsar Lok Sabha is over 14 lakhs. Prominent among the candidates in fray for the Lok Sabha seat are BJP leader Rajinder Mohan Singh Chhina, who is up against Congress' Gurjit Singh Aujla and Aam Aadmi Party's Upkar Singh Sandhu.
Goa
A total of 250 candidates are in fray. More than 11 lakh voters are eligible to exercise their franchise in the election being held across 1,642 polling booths in the state with para-military forces and state police guarding the venues.
Union Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar was among the early voters who voted at the polling booth located in the heart of Panaji city at around 7.20 AM. In characteristic fashion, Parrikar was seen standing among voters waiting for his turn to vote.
The election is being closely fought by major political forces – BJP, Congress, AAP and MGP-led alliance, who have been campaigning in the coastal state for last two months.
BJP's campaign was studded with several national leaders including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and party president Amit Shah addressing the public meeting to rally support for the candidates.
While a large number of new faces are contesting this time, the polls will decide political future of Goa's five former chief ministers – Churchill Alemao, Pratapsinh Rane, Ravi Naik, Digambar Kamat and Luizinho Faleiro along with present CM Laxmikant Parsekar.
Various icons from different fields were engaged to spread message about ethical voting by the commission which had strict vigilance on casinos, matka gambling, unorganized vendors and other activities to avoid money and muscle power from influencing the voters.
For the current polls, AAP is contesting on 39 seats, Congress on 37 and BJP on 36 seats. The BJP which had pre-poll alliance in 2012 elections is going alone this time but is supporting independents in four constituencies. There is also speculation that Parrikar, a former Goa chief minister, might be sent back as its next CM if BJP retains power in the tourist state.
