The Hindu : Heavy to moderate turnout in Uttar Pradesh, Manipur

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Feb 22, 2002

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Heavy to moderate turnout in Uttar Pradesh, Manipur

Women stage a protest on Thursday after they were allegedly prevented from voting by the higher castes at Uttar Pradesh's Belwa village.- AP

NEW DELHI, FEB. 21. The final phase of polling for the Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh and Manipur ended today amidst violence which killed a BJP activist and saw large-scale booth- capturing as the two States recorded heavy to moderate turnout of voters.

Barring militant attacks on seven polling stations in Jammu, bypoll to six Lok Sabha and seven Assembly constituencies spread across 10 States passed off peacefully registering an average turnout of 55 per cent.

A BJP activist was killed and another seriously injured as supporters of the party traded gunfire with Apna Dal workers near a polling station in Varanasi district, the district magistrate, Alok Tandon, said.

One booth was burnt down and militants took over many booths stuffing ballots in the boxes in many areas of Manipur where an estimated 80 per cent of nearly six lakh voters completed the exercise for the 60-member Assembly in the State rocked by years of political instability.

Election material were taken away from many polling stations in Churchandpur and Tamenglong districts while unidentified militants cast their ballots even before polling started. A booth was set on fire in the Chandel constituency. Polling materials were also set on fire at the Saikul constituency.

Among the 124 candidates in fray for the 20 Assembly constituencies was the former Chief Minister and senior Congress leader, Rishang Keishing, who is locked in an eight-cornered contest in the Ukhrul constituency.

Bypolls for the Lok Sabha seats were held in Kaliabor (Assam), Jammu, Kanakapura (Karnataka), Guna (Madhya Pradesh), Mirzapur (Uttar Pradesh) and Tripura West.

The voting percentage in the Jammu-Poonch Lok Sabha constituency was 43 per cent. The urban areas recorded a low voting percentage.

Barring a minor incident of ``malfunctioning'' of an electronic voting machine in a booth, which necessitated a re- poll by some 70 voters, the by-election in the high-profile Andipatti, where the AIADMK supremo, Jayalalithaa, is the main contestant, passed off ``peacefully,'' top Government officials said.

About 54 per cent of the estimated 24.98 lakh electorate exercised their franchise today in the Kanakapura Lok Sabha constituency, where polling was by and large peaceful, with police keeping tight vigil.

The Election Commission today said the trend of the results of the Assembly elections held in four States were expected to be available from the afternoon of February 24.

- PTI, UNI

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