In a clash-marred panchayat poll which saw supporters of candidates opening fire, coming to blows or damaging electronic voting machines (EVM) and technical glitches holding up polling at some booths, voting for the first phase of the three-phased panchayat elections was held amid tight security today.
Around 84 per cent polling was reported in an election which saw enthusiastic participation of voters who began queuing up outside booths since morning. Women, too, came out in large numbers to vote.
Residents of Rewari’s Rudh village boycotted the poll in protest against the setting up of the booth across a railway line on which a forest official died after he was hit by a train on the Delhi-Jaipur line while going to cast his vote. Only 18 votes were polled in the village having 800 votes.
The fifth panchayat election in the state is being keenly watched since it is the first poll after the Haryana Government introduced the mandatory minimum education qualification for candidates, besides imposing various other conditions such as barring of defaulters of power bills and loans as also criminals.
Minor clashes were reported from various districts, but the day belonged to voters who stood in serpentine queues to vote well after the official polling time.
Repoll has been ordered in two booths of Mewat’s Punhana block after supporters of a candidate fled with EVMs. In Jhajjar’s Kasar village, repoll has been ordered after it was that a candidate’s name was covered with a tape. Panchkula with 91.8 per cent reported the highest poll percentage. Yamunanagar reported a polling percentage of 90.3, while Fatehabad had a poll percentage of 89. The turnout in Sonepat was the lowest at 76.6 per cent.
A man died after supporters of two candidates clashed outside a polling booth in Palwal’s Ratipur village soon after the polling started. This was followed by stone pelting, critically injuring a supporter of a sarpanch aspirant. He later died in hospital. A few others were injured in the clash.
In Bhiwani’s Karimod and Morwala villages, supporters of candidates damaged EVMs, while opening of fire held up polling in Palwal’s Ratipur village, and Rohtak’s Bhalauth and Shimli villages. There were no casualties. This is the first panchayat election when the BJP is in power in the state. With its vote bank concentrated in urban areas, the government’s decision to “impose” revised eligibility criteria for candidates by insisting on minimum education qualifications was seen by the Opposition as an attempt to “exclude” the established grass-root leadership of the rivals.
The next phase of polling is slated for January 17.
