NEW DELHI, Apr 18: Moderate to high voter turnout was recorded in the 95 constituencies in 11 states and Puducherry that went to polls in the second phase of the Lok Sabha elections which were marred by sporadic incidents of violence in West Bengal and Manipur, and EVM glitches.
There were also reports of EVM malfunctioning in some seats.
Puducherry saw a high voter turnout of 78 percent, while in Manipur the polling percentage was nearly 75, sources in the election office said.
Srinagar, which in 2014 witnessed the lowest voter turnout in the country at 25.86 percent, saw 12.43 percent polling, with the highest 17.1 percent recorded in Shia-dominated Budgam district till 3 pm.
No untoward incident was reported during polling, which was held amid tight security due to militant threats and a boycott call by separatists in Kashmir.
The Udhampur Lok Sabha constituency recorded 58.13 percent polling.
In Tamil Nadu, where polling is being held in the maximum 38 seats, the voter turnout was 52.02 percent at 3 pm.
Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Satyabrata Sahoo said no reports of booth capturing or any other untoward incident regarding law and order has been received so far.
Besides Tamil Nadu, polling is being held for 14 seats in Karnataka, 10 in Maharashtra, eight in Uttar Pradesh, five each in Assam, Bihar and Odisha, three each in Chhattisgarh and West Bengal, two in Jammu & Kashmir, and one seat each in Manipur and Puducherry, besides 35 assembly constituencies in Odisha.
Polling in Tamil Nadu’s Vellore LS seat was cancelled on Tuesday by the Election Commission of India following recovery of cash, allegedly from an associate of a DMK leader recently.
The ECI also announced postponement of polling in the Tripura East Lok Sabha seat to the third phase on 23 April, saying the prevailing law and order situation there is not conducive for holding free and fair polls.
Isolated incidents of violence, road blockades, bombings and police firing marred polling in the three Lok Sabha constituencies in West Bengal with 65.43 percent voter turnout recorded till 3 pm.
An average 57.22 percent polling was recorded till 5 pm in 10 constituencies of Maharashtra.
Around 59.72 percent polling was recorded till 3 pm in Chhattisgarh’s three Lok Sabha seats, all having Naxal presence, amid tight security.
About 53 percent voters exercised their franchise till 3 pm in five Odisha Lok Sabha and 35 assembly seats, some of them in Naxal-affected areas.
Karnataka saw a turnout of 61.84 percent till 5 pm.
In Assam, Karimganj recorded the highest polling of 63.66 percent till 3 pm, followed by Mangaldoi and autonomous district – both at 62.7 percent, Silchar with 57.06 and Nowgong with the lowest at 56.78 percent.
The five seats in Bihar saw an estimated 45.77 percent voting till 3 pm.
The ECI put the overall voter turnout in Uttar Pradesh at 50.39 percent till 3 pm.
Lok Sabha polls are being held in seven phases for 543 seats on 11 April, 18 April, 23 April, 29 April, 6 May, 12 May and 19 May, and counting will be on 23 May. (PTI)
