Polls peaceful, but complaints flood EC office

Elections in four states and by-elections in seven Assembly constituencies passed off peacefully barring sporadic violence in Nagaland. The ...

Elections in four states and by-elections in seven Assembly constituencies passed off peacefully barring sporadic violence in Nagaland. The Election Commission authorities here said the contest in Nagaland where about 70 per cent of the electorate voted, was indeed the most heated one. A list of complaints from candidates had piled up with the Commission and the observors in the field were looking into it, officials said.

Giving details of the violence, the Commission authorities said in village Lakuti in 39-Sanis constituency an enraged mob destroyed five Electronic Voting Machines during the day.

In Zunheboto district two groups of officials on election duties were ambushed by the ‘‘miscreants.’’

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Meanwhile, in Tripura, where officials said no untoward incident had happened, five BSF personnel and their civilian driver were shot dead and three other jawans injured by suspected National Liberation Front of Tripura militants, when the border guards were returning from poll duty, at Shantarampara in West Tripura district. Tripura registered highest polling 72 per cent followed by Nagaland 70 per cent, Meghalaya 68 per cent and Himachal Pradesh 63 per cent.

Among the constituencies where by-elections were held the percentage of polling is Sattankulam (Tamil Nadu) 55 per cent, Ratabari (Assam) 65 per cent, Pampore (J-K) 40 per cent, Humnabad (Karnataka) 68 per cent, Bhokherden (Maaharashtra) 62 per cent, Haidergarh (UP) 54 per cent and Gauriganj (UP) 55 per cent.

The Election Commission however said the final figures of poll participation could change since the collection of data particularly from the North East is a time-consuming exercise.