Chhattisgarh polls: 64.8% voter turnout recorded till 5 pm

Around 64.8 per cent voter turnout was recorded till 5 pm in the second and final phase of the Chhattisgarh Assembly polls held on Tuesday, anofficial said.The voting time ended at 5 pm, but voters were still standing in the queues, waiting for their turn at several polling booths across the state. The voting percentage is, therefore, likely to rise.A total of 1,079 candidates, including 119 women, are contesting in 72 constituencies of the state with an electorate of 1,54,00,596.This was the last of the two-phase polls to the 90-member Assembly, where the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has been in power for the last 15 years."64.8 per cent polling has been registered till 5 pm. Although voting ended at 5 pm, voters were waiting in queue in large numbers in the polling booth premises," the official said."The voting percentage is expected to rise," he added.The time of polling was from 8 am to 5 pm, but in two polling booths - Amamora (booth no 72) and Modh (no 76) in Bindranavgarh constituency (Gariaband district) - voting was held from 7 am to 3 pm due to Naxal threats, the official said.There were reports of technical snags in EVMs at some places, which delayed the polling process, he said.Meanwhile, the Election Commission has removed a presiding officer and a polling staff of different polling booths in Marwahi constituency of Bilaspur district, after receiving complaints against them.Bilaspur Collector P Dayanand removed presiding officer of Semra polling booth Surendra Kumar Mandavi, and a polling staff of Dhanauli polling station Kamal Kishore Tiwari after getting complaints against them by concerned polling agents, a statement issued by poll officials said."An inquiry has been ordered against Mandavi and Tiwari and they have been ousted from the polling duty," it said.Chief Minister Raman Singh, his wife Veena Singh and son Abhishek Singh, a BJP MP from Rajnandaon district, voted in Kawardha constituency.State ministers including Brijmohan Agrawal, Rajesh Munat and Premparkash Pandey, besides State Congress chief Bhupesh Baghel and Leader of Opposition TS Singhdeo exercised their franchise in their respective areas.Around 1.50 lakh security personnel have been deployed across the state to ensure peaceful polling, he said.In the second phase of polling, extra vigil is being maintained in districts including Gariaband, Dhamtari, Mahasamund, Kabirdham, Jashpur and Balrampur, which are Naxal-affected areas, the official said.Maximum number of 46 candidates are in Raipur City South constituency and the least number of six candidates are in Bindranavagarh seat. Of the 72 seats, 17 are reserved for Scheduled Tribes and nine for Scheduled Castes.A total of 19,336 polling booths were set up for the second phase, of which 444 are sensitive booths.The first phase of polls in 18 seats of eight Naxal-hit districts on November 12 had recorded over 76 per cent voter turnout.The counting of votes will be held on December 11.

Chhattisgarh polls: 64.8% voter turnout recorded till 5 pm

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