Lok Sabha polls: Kolkata turnout takes a hit over weather-EVM snag combo
Times of India | 2 June 2024
KOLKATA: Severe discomfort caused by heat and humidity, coupled with EVM snags, appear to have caused a dip in voters' turnout in Kolkata during the concluding phase of the Lok Sabha polls on Saturday. Taken together, the two city seats - Kolkata North and Kolkata South - registered a turnout of 60.1% at 5pm, against 64.4% five years ago.
The overall turnout in the nine seats that voted was 69.9% at 5pm.
Saturday's figures are provisional. The final count will be released by EC on Sunday.
Of the two Kolkata seats, it was Kolkata South that witnessed the steepest decline, with a turnout of 60.9%, down from 67% in 2019 and 69.3% in 2014. However, the turnout in Kolkata North, at 60.9%, was only marginally lower than the 61.1% of 2019, and could even surpass last election's in the final count. Fears of low turnout had prompted CM Mamata Banerjee to call up TMC candidates, urging them to encourage voters to go out to vote.
Arunachal PradeshSikkimArunachal PradeshSeats: 60L + WMajority: 31BJP42NPP7CONG1OTH6Leads + Wins: 56/60BJP LEADINGSikkimSeats: 32L + WMajority: 17SKM31SDF1BJP0CONG0OTH0Leads + Wins: 32/32SKM LEADINGSource: PvalueThe weather was stifling. The maximum temperature was a moderate 33.5°C, but the high relative humidity of 97% made it uncomfortable. Many voters also returned home after sweating it out for prolonged periods, thanks to malfunctioning EVMs.
Incorrect EVM use led to snags, slow voting: Officials
At the Institute of Jute Technology on Ballygunge Circular Road, scores of voters returned home after they fell ill on Saturday morning after being forced to stand in queue in a poorly ventilated corridor for over an hour, thanks to an EVM malfunction. Industrialist Harsh Neotia and his son Parthiv, too, went back after waiting an hour. Though Neotia returned later in the day to exercise his franchise, many others did not. The slow voting, said the polling officer, was owing to many longp-ressing the EVM button, which caused the system to stall and reboot.
That is what happened at Matrishakti School in Cossipore as well, when an elderly person pressed the button twice. “The issue with EVMs was the time lag between pressing the button and the loud beep that signals that the vote has been cast. The delay led to uncertainty and prompted many to press the switch again, causing the snag,” said a polling officer.
Violence was primarily restricted to Bhangar in Jadavpur constituency and Sandeshkhali in Basirhat. In strife-torn Sandeshkhali, police had to resort to lathicharge and teargas-shelling to control the situation after Trinamool and BJP support ers clashed in the morning. In Bhangar, the two warring groups involved Trinamool and ISF.
EC received 2,983 complaints during polling, of which 653 were filed by major political parties. Of these, only 13 complaints were filed by TMC. CPM accounted for 373 complaints and BJP 267. The opposition were most vocal about the inaction of police and central forces. EC had deployed 967 companies of central forces, along with over 33,000 state police personnel in the final phase of polling. Altogether, 21 persons were arrested.
Despite the violence, Basirhat registered the highest turnout — of 76.6% — during the final phase of polling on Saturday, followed by Mathurapur at 74.1%, Jaynagar at 73.4% and Diamond Harbour at 72.9%.