BARRING THREE incidents of violence in Gadchiroli, no untoward incident was reported, as nearly 55.97 per cent (till 5.30 pm) voters exercised their franchise in the seven Vidarbha constituencies on Thursday. While polling went on smoothly, glitches were reported in 50 EVMs and 275 VVPATs. The provisional voter turnout, released by the authorities, suggested that the total polling is not likely to rise substantially compared to the 2014 elections. In some constituencies, polling actually dipped when compared to the last elections. CLICK HERE FOR MORE ELECTION RELATED NEWS According to the figures released by the Election Commission (EC) till 5.30 pm, the provisional voter turnout in Nagpur was 53.13 per cent, compared to 57.12 per cent in 2014. While Bhandara-Gondia saw a turnout of 60.50 per cent (72.31 per cent in 2014), it was 61.35 per cent (70.04 per cent in 2014) in Gadchiroli-Chimur, 55.97 per cent (63.29 per cent in 2014) in Chandrapur, 53.78 per cent (58.87 per cent in 2014) in Yavatmal-Washim, 51.72 per cent (62.64 per cent in 2014) in Ramtek and 55.36 per cent (64.79 per cent in 2014) in Wardha. Officials from the office of chief electoral officer said that polling continued at certain booths in all the seven Lok Sabha constituencies after the 6 pm deadline. “Some people came out to vote after 4 pm, which is why there are queues,” said Additional Chief Electoral Officer Dilip Shinde. He added that except three incidents of violence in Gadchiroli, voting was peaceful in all the constituencies. “Polling did not take place in four centres at Ahreri in Gadchiroli-Chimur constituency, as the polling machines could not reach the spot due to threats. Polling will be held there later on,” said Shinde. During the mock poll that is held before polling begins at 7 am, glitches were reported in 150 EVMs and 275 VVPATs. These machines were replaced immediately. But during the day, glitches were reported in 98 ballet units (BU), 69 control units (CU) and 164 VVPATs. “Since we have additional 20 per cent BU and CU machines and 30 per cent VVPAT machines, they were also replaced immediately,” said Shinde. On the complaints regarding EVM made by political parties, he said, “There is no substance in the complaints.” Shinde added live streaming of 1,261 of the total 14,919 polling centres was held. “The live streaming was seen by the returning officer as well as officials in the chief electoral office and the Election Commission in Delhi.”
