Lok Sabha polls phase five: West Bengal records 80 per cent turnout, Karnataka 65 per cent

New Delhi: High turnout was witnessed in 121constituencies which went to polls across 12 states in the fifth phase of Lok Sabha elections on Thursday in which the political fate of leaders like Nandan Nilekani, Maneka Gandhi, M Veerappa Moily and Jaswant Singh is at stake.

There were a few incidents of violence, including blasts, in Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha and Uttar Pradesh in which four people, including three security personnel, were injured.

Four constituencies of West Bengal, which went to polls, recorded the highest turnout among the 12 states. The voter turnout was recorded at 78.89 per cent but was likely to go up as final figures were still being computed. The figure as of now was lower than previous Lok Sabha election turnout of 80.85 per cent.

Karnataka witnessed 65 per cent voter turnout

An estimated 65 per cent of the 4.62 crore voters in Karnataka exercised their franchise on Thursday for 28 Lok Sabha seats in the single-phase polls in which the ruling Congress and BJP are playing for high stakes. The elections held under the watchful eyes of some 85,000 security personnel, including the central forces, passed off peacefully with no major untoward incident, officials said.

Voting ranged from moderate to brisk in the initial hours touching about 25 per cent till around noon but gathered pace reaching 47 per cent at 3 pm and 60 per cent by 5 pm, chief electoral officer Anil Kumar Jha told PTI.

Polling in the three constituencies of Bangalore - South, Central and North - was more than 50 per cent till 5 pm, he said, adding that the final polling percentage would go up further.

A total of 435 candidates are in the fray with BJP expecting upswing in its fortunes after the bitter defeat in the 2013 Assembly polls when it lost power to Congress, which on the other side, is hoping to replicate its performance. In the 2009 Lok Sabha polls, the final voting percentage was 58.81. The then ruling party BJP had won 19 seats, Congress six and JDS three.

In a tragic note to the election process, two polling officials died of heart attack in Belgaum and Tumkur districts, police said.

Among the key contestants are Nandan Nilekani, former Infosys co-founder and the richest candidate in the fray with his and wife's declared wealth of over Rs 7,700 crore, who is locked in a close fight with five-time MP BJP's Ananth Kumar in Bangalore South.

62.52 per cent polling recorded in 11 seats of Uttar Pradesh

Uttar Pradesh has recorded 62.52 per cent polling to decide fate of 150 candidates. According to EC sources, Nagina witnessed 53.24 per cent polling while Moradabad 54.4 per cent and Rampur 47.9 per cent polling each.

Similarly Sambhal recorded 51.40 per cent polling, Amroha 51.4 per cent, Badaun 44.2 per cent, Aonla 47.2 per cent, Bareilly 52.6 per cent, Pilibhit 48.6, Shahjahanpur 45.83 per cent and Kheri 49.15 per cent.

In this phase, polling is being held in Moradabad, Rampur, Sambhal, Amroha, Badaun, Bareilly, Pilibhit, Shahjahanpur, Nagina, Aonla and Kheri. The prominent candidates who are in fray includes Maneka Gandhi, Santosh Gangwar, Saleem Sherwani and Begum Noor Bano.

40 percent voter turnout in Rajasthan

An average of over 40 per cent of total 3.48 crore electors cast their votes in the first phase Lok Sabha polls being held on 20 out of 25 seats in Rajasthan till 3 pm.

"Polling is under way on a very peaceful note so far barring a few incidents of party workers' altercation in Ajmer and Bikaner outside the booths", DGP-Law and Order Navdeep Singh told PTI here.

Over 80,000 security personnels were on duty to ensure free and fair poll, and incident free, DGP claimed. Chief Minister Vasundhra Raje, cast her vote at the polling station set up in Topkhana school in Jhalawar.

"I am expecting very good results. We set a mission 25 to win all the parliamentary constituencies in Rajasthan and I hope that we should win all constituencies," Raje told reporters here. She said that UPA government has betrayed people and voters know it hence the results would in the favour of the party.

Jaswant Singh, expelled BJP leader, cast his vote in his home constituency of Barmer, while Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore exercised his franchise with his wife in Jaipur rural constituency.

Ganganagar (SC) seat registered highest voter turn out of 49.11 per cent whereas Banswara recorded 43.35, Barmer 42.8 per cent voting.

Former Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot cast his vote with wife and daughter-in-law at Jodhpur, while BJP candidate Col Sonaram contesting against BJP rebel Jaswant Singh, exercised his franchise in Barmer. Coming out of the booth, Gehlot told reporters that it was very dangerous in democratic election that rival party (BJP) was posing as a one man party (NaMo).

Gehlot criticised BJP's poll campaign in which Modi projected as "is bar Modi sarkar", alleging individualism would not be accepted by voters.

Altogether 239 candidates including 17 women are in the fray in the 20 Lok Sabha constituencies in the first phase. 38, 835 polling stations have been set up in the first phase and 5942 among them are critical polling stations.

The 20 LS constituencies where polling is going on are: Ganganagar, Bikaner, Churu, Jhunjhunu, Sikar, Jaipur Rural, Jaipur, Ajmer, Nagaur, Pali, Jodhpur, Barmer, Jalore, Udaipur, Banswara, Chittorgarh, Rajsamand, Bhilwara, Kota, and Jhalawar-Baran.

62 per cent voters exercised their franchise in Jharkhand, despite Maoist violence

Around 62 per cent of the electorate voted in the second phase of polling in six Lok Sabha seats in Jharkhand today amid Maoist violence that left five persons, including 4 CRPF men, injured.

"Around 62 per cent polling was recorded in the second phase for six seats," chief electoral officer P K Jajoria told a press conference here.

Polling was held in Ranchi, Giridih, Jamshedpur, Singhbhum (ST), Khunti (ST) and Hazaribagh seats under strict security and helicopter surveillance. The electoral fortunes of 106 candidates were sealed in EVMs.

Prominent among them were Lok Sabha deputy speaker Karia Munda of BJP, Jayant Sinha, son of Jaswant Sinha, former Team India Manager Amitabh Chowdhury of JVM(P), former deputy chief minister, Suresh Mahato of Ajsu party and former Union minister Subodh Kant Sahay of Congress.

A CRPF patrol was attacked by Maoists who exploded two landmines at Lalpania near Maoist-affected Jhumra Hills in Bokaro, CRPF (26th Battalion) Commandant Sanjay Kumar said.

Three CRPF men, Pratap Singh, Surendra Kumar and P C Mandal besides driver Ranjit Kumar were injured. Maoists fired on another CRPF patrol at Tulbul village injuring one of the men and a brief encounter took place before the ultras retreated.

A pressure cooker bomb was recovered near a polling booth in Maoist-hit Saranda forest range of the state, an hour before polling began in the Singhbhum (ST) constituency, Superintendent of Police, N K Singh said. A report from Giridih said that the Maoists exploded ten bombs at separate places in the Giridih Lok Sabha constituency.

Maoists also blew up a stretch of railway lines between Dania railway station in Bokaro under the south eastern Railway disrupting train services, Bokaro Superintendent of Police, Jitendra Kumar Singh said.

The first phase of the polls was held in four constituencies on April 10. The third and last phase would be held on April 24 in four seats----Dumka, Raj Mahal, Godda and Dhanbad.

54 per cent polling in Bihar

Over 54 per cent polling, almost15 per cent more than the previous election, was registered in seven Lok Sabha seats in Bihar today in the second phase in the state.

Elections held for Munger, Nalanda, Patna Sahib, Patliputra, Arrah, Buxar and Jehanabad seats registered 54.04 at the end of polling at 6:00 pm, EC sources said. It was 39.33 per cent in the seats in 2009. All the seven seats recorded above 50 per cent voting with Buxar topping the list at 57 per cent, while Patna Sahib and Patliputra registered 52 per cent, the sources said.

Voting picked up late at Nalanda the home constituency of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and reached 55 per cent. RJD chief Lalu Prasad's eldest daughter Misa Bharti, actor-politician Shatrughan Sinha, former union home secretary R K Singh were among 117 candidates whose electoral fates were sealed in EVMs.

Arrah from where former union home secretary R K Singh was in the race from BJP saw 53 per cent voting against 35.77 per cent last time. The chief minister cast his vote at a booth in Bakhtiyarpur under the Patna Sahib parliamentary constituency.

Lalu Prasad and his wife Rabri Devi voted at a booth in Patna as also Shatrughan Sinha. Governor D Y Patil and his wife voted at a school near Raj Bhawan. Polling was postponed at four Maoist-hit booths in Dharhara jungle in Munger district.

70 per cent polling in Odisha

70 per cent of the electorate exercised their franchise for 11 Lok Sabha and 77 Assembly seats in Odisha where second and last phase of polls passed off peacefully.

As the electoral fortunes of 845 candidates for 11 Lok Sabha and 77 Assembly seats were sealed in the EVMs, a maximum of around 75 per cent voters turned out in Dhenkanal as well as Angul districts, Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), Mona Sharma told reporters. The lowest voter turn-out of about 45 per cent was recorded in the Khurda district, she said.

Final phase of polling remained by and large peaceful and smooth in the constituencies spread over 13 districts in the coastal and northern parts of Odisha, Sharma said.