145;Difficult146; states spring a surprise

Marred by violence and Naxal killings, the bitter electoral battle for the 178 Assembly constituencies in Haryana, Bihar and Jharkhand saw a...

Marred by violence and Naxal killings, the bitter electoral battle for the 178 Assembly constituencies in Haryana, Bihar and Jharkhand saw around 55 per cent electorate cast their vote.

Nineteen people, including women, polling and security personnel, were killed in poll-related violence in Bihar and Jharkhand in the first phase of polling today.

Election Commission spokesperson A.N. Jha informed 65 per cent voting was recorded in Haryana, where no major incidents of violence or poll malpractice were reported. However, one presiding officer in Haryana died of heart attack and another died in Jharkhand.

In the violence-ridden first phase in the two eastern states, around 45 per cent cast their ballot in Jharkhand and around 50-55 per cent turned up to vote in Bihar, said Jha.

Jharkhand, where Assembly elections took place for the first time, the electorate cast their votes in 24 constituencies.

The state which began witnessing violence and killings right from the first moment of campaigning, stuck to its reputation: six police personnel, including the station in-charge, were killed in a landmine blast allegedly triggered off by Naxalites in Palamu district late last night.

Also, police shot dead four Naxalites today when they attempted to disrupt polling at Dandila in Hussainabad constituency. Jha said there were reports of clashes from some other polling stations as well.

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In Bihar, 50-55 per cent voters turned up in 64 constituencies which went to polls today. Six persons, including three women and two homeguards, were killed and several injured in alleged attacks by Naxalites, group clashes and bomb explosions in the state.

Of the three women, two were killed in police firing in Rohtas, two homeguards and a woman were killed in Gaya and another person was killed in a group clash.

At several polling booths in Nawada, Bhagalpur and Bhojpur, the electorate boycotted the polls, but not because of the Naxalite call.

In Nawada, Jha said, the issue was lack of development work; Bhagalpur couldn8217;t vote as voter I-cards or alternative identification papers did not reach on time. The reason why locals didn8217;t cast their mandate in one polling station in Bhojpur was 8216;8216;not known8217;8217; to the Commission.

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In the 90-member Haryana Assembly, polls were by-and-large peaceful, barring a stray incident of clash in which the driver of a candidate was shot dead in Barwala.

Narwana and Adampur recorded a huge turnout 8212; over 82 per cent. The Election Commission also denied that it had put any bar on Haryana CM Om Prakash Chautala from casting his ballot as was claimed by him earlier in the day. 8216;8216;How can we put bar on any voter?8217;8217; said Jha.

He also said that videography was done in most sensitive and hyper-sensitive booths in the three states and added the Commission was scrutinising votes where ever abnormal voting had taken place and a decision on repoll would be taken latest by Saturday.