High voter turnout in panchayat polls

By Our Special Correspondent

HYDERABAD, AUG. 14. Despite rain in several parts of the State, elections to the first phase of gram panchayats were marked by voter enthusiasm and high turnout.

Reports from districts show that though this was an election on a non-party basis, political activists thronged the areas near polling booths and freely indulged in campaigning till the last moment.

Elections were marked by a few stray incidents. In Rajupalem village in Cuddapah district, a Sub Inspector of Police, Mr. Narayanaswamy, died in a freak accident when he tripped on a stone, fell headlong and his body weight triggered the pistol and the bullet pierced through his body.

In Dhodlametta village in Chittoor district, police opened fire in the air to disperse two clashing groups.

The Inspector of Police, Renigunta, Mr. Prabhakar, and three constables - N.Venkateswarlu, Gopal and Gopi - were injured.

In Warangal district, the People's War Group naxalites raided a booth in Mogilicherla village and threw the ballot box into a well.

In East Godavari district, polling could not be held in five villages of Maredumalli mandal because polling officials could not reach the villages as the streams were flooded and they could not wade through the water. In Mahbubnagar district, polling was stopped at Singayepalli as the ballot papers sent to the village did not tally with the symbols allotted to candidates.

In the first phase, elections were held in 7,109 villages. Police said that they deployed 1,530 mobile parties and 440 striking forces in faction-ridden and naxal-dominated villages.

In Kanur village near Vijayawada, voters in the queue openly talked of the candidates giving them up to Rs.800 per vote while an old woman told the press that she voted for a candidate who promised to get her an old age pension.

There is great interest among influential farmers in the village to become sarpanch in view of the vast powers concentrated in the sarpanch's hands.

The insistence of the State Election Commission to have the fingerprints of the voters taken in problem villages to prevent rigging delayed the voting process.

Also, the decision to print ballot papers without names of candidates and with only symbols resulted in some confusion because rural voters were not familiar with symbols chosen such as the `carom board' and `cricket bat.'

The second phase will be held on August 17 and the last phase on August 20.

Braving rain and swollen streams, tribals crossing a rivulet to reach the polling station in Sunnampadu village on Tuesday to exercise their franchise in the panchayat elections.

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Section  : Southern States
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