Moderate To Heavy Polling In Bypolls

Moderate to heavy turnout of voters marked the byelections to three Lok Sabha and nine Assembly constituencies spread over eight states and east Delhi which passed off peacefully yesterday.

Counting of ballots will be taken up on May 31 in all the three Lok Sabha constituencies Ernakulam (Kerala), east Delhi and Aska (Orissa) and nine Assembly constituencies Shirdi (Maharashtra), Martur (Andhra Pradesh), Molakalmur (Karnataka), Qila Raipur (Punjab), Bhojpur and Khandwa (Madhya Pradesh), Daspalla and Nawapara (Orissa) and Farrukhabad (Uttar Pradesh).

The highest polling was recorded in Karnatakas Molakalmuru Assembly constituency, where the ruling Janata Dal is locked in a prestige battle with the Congress, with nearly 75 per cent of the 1.29 lakh electorate exercising their franchise, according to the joint chief electoral officer N Khetrapal.

By contrast, the east Delhi Lok Sabha constituency, where BJPs Lal Bihari Tiwari, food and civil supplies minister of Delhi government, is fighting it out with Congress A K Walia and former Union minister H K L Bhagat (independent), witnessed widespread apathy of the voters as only 23 to 25 per cent of the 22.3 lakh electorate cast their ballots. Heavy polling was recorded at Qila Raipur in Punjab (65 per cent), Martur in Andhra Pradesh (63-65 per cent) and Shirdi in Maharashtra (62 per cent) Assembly constituencies while fairly brisk balloting was reported from Bhojpur (50- 55 per cent) in Madhya Pradesh, Nawapara (50 per cent) in Orissa and Farrukhabad (52 per cent) in UP. Barring some skirmishes between rival party supporters which did not stop balloting, polling was by and large peaceful in Farrukhabad, where the Uttar Pradesh labour minister Prabha Diwedi is locked in a straight contest with Samajwadi Partys Lal Bahadir Singh Shankya.

Balloting in Qila Raipur, where the ruling Shiromani Akali Dal is battling it out with CPI (M) and its allies, passed off peacefully barring a minor scuffle between rival activists amidst allegation of electoral practices against the ruling party which denied the charge.

Considerable voters apathy was witnessed in Keralas Ernakulam, where Left Front-backed independent Sebastian Paul is pitted against Congress-led United Democratic Front nominee Antony Issac, with nearly 47 percent of the total electorate casting ballots in one of the dullest-ever turnout in the states electoral history.

Voters indifference was also evident in the first few hours of polling in Aska Lok Sabha constituency in Orissa, where late Chief Minister Biju Patnaiks son Naveen is pitted against Congress Ram Chandra Rath. But the polling picked up in the afternoon.

Enthusiasm ran high in Shirdi assembly constituency of Maharashtra, where state agriculture minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil is in fray against his main Congress rival Ravindra Deokar, with 65 percent turnout of voters who included a 109-year-old woman.

Despite some attempts to capture booths, polling in Nawapara assembly constituency went on smoothly registering a turnout of 50 percent while low turnout was reported from the states other assembly constituency Daspalla (37 per cent).