52% voting recorded

Manmeet Singh Gill

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, September 19

The turnout in the district was around 52 per cent on Wednesday, indicating a lack of interest among voters. The voting percentage in Assembly elections in 2017 was 61, thus the figure has gone down by nine per cent.

Meanwhile, the voting at Booth No. 42 of Gagomahal village in Ajnala block has been postponed due to a scuffle between two groups. The clash arose when a group of men alleged that it caught a man impersonating another for casting vote. Officials said a new election schedule would be announced later.

Village-level leaders of the Congress as well as the SAD had to work hard to bring voters to polling booths. In most of the villages, voters were given free rides on tractors and autorickshaws to take them to booths.

Voters said they were not known to the candidates in the fray. Another reason behind their disinterest is a lack of awareness about the powers and functions of Zila Parishad and Block Samitis.

“For a rural voter, the two important elections are that of sarpanches and MLAs. In both cases, they are familiar with the candidates,” said a resident of Ram Diwali village.

In villages on the outskirts of the city with substantial migrant population, the queues were a bit longer. In most of the villages, polling booths presented a deserted look.

The elections were held for 24 seats of Zila Parishad and 155 seats of Block Samitis as one Zila Parishad seat and 45 of Block Samitis have already been declared unopposed.

It was after a long time that ballot boxes were used for elections as EVM machines were witnessed in the earlier polls.

District Election Officer-cum-Deputy Commissioner (DC) Kamaldeep Singh Sangha said ballot boxes had been kept at strong rooms in various places. He said that heavy security had been deployed. The counting would be done on September 22.