71.93 pc voting recorded in 2nd phase of Chhattisgarh polls: EC

A turnout of 71.93 per cent was recorded till 6 PM in the second phase of assembly elections in Chhattisgarh on Tuesday and polling remained incident-free, the Election Commission said.

Addressing a press conference here, Deputy Election Commissioner Umesh Sinha said the polling percentage is likely to rise further as a number of people were still in the queue for voting. He said the polling percentage for this phase is slightly higher than that recorded during 2013 which was 71.13 per cent.

Polling for as many as 72 seats were conducted in the second phase.

Sinha said Tuesday's election was peaceful and incident-free as elaborate security arrangements were made.

He added that a number of old voters, including those over 100 years of age, also exercised their franchise and the Commission had made arrangements for them.

The EC said with Tuesday's polling percentage the total average turnout for Chhattisgarh has been 74.17 per cent, which may go up further. During the first phase of voting on November 12 for 18 seats in the Naxal-affected areas of the state, a total of 76.42 per cent polling was recorded.