National Desk
25 May
Sandeep Dhand Ludhiana
In the sixth round of the Lok Sabha elections, 60 percent of voters exercised their democratic right across 58 constituencies today. A notable highlight was the record 75.4 percent voter turnout in eight seats of West Bengal, although the day was marred by violence, resulting in the tragic deaths of two individuals.
Voting was delayed in several areas due to defects in electronic voting machines, causing inconvenience to voters. Additionally, extreme heat dampened voter enthusiasm, despite the Election Commission’s efforts to mitigate the discomfort. Many polling stations were equipped with cold water, coolers, fans, and tents to help voters cope with the high temperatures.
So far, voting has been completed in 486 seats. The final and seventh round of voting will take place on June 1, covering 57 seats, including those in Punjab and Chandigarh. In addition to the Lok Sabha elections, voting also occurred today for 42 seats in the Odisha Vidhan Sabha.
Today’s voting encompassed all seven seats in Delhi and 10 seats in Haryana. Specific regions participating in this round included eight seats in Bihar, one in Jammu and Kashmir, four in Jharkhand, six in Odisha, and 14 in Uttar Pradesh. Voter turnout varied by region, with Jharkhand seeing 60.26 percent, Uttar Pradesh 52.01 percent, Bihar 52.49 percent, Haryana 62 percent, and Delhi 58.67 percent.
A historic turnout was recorded in Jammu and Kashmir’s Anantnag-Rajouri seat, where 55.15 percent of voters cast their ballots, the highest in 35 years.
Prominent figures who voted in the national capital included President Draupadi Murmu, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, Union Ministers S Jaishankar and Hardeep Singh Puri, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Delhi Minister Atishi, and Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, along with their families.
Despite the challenges, today’s voter turnout demonstrates a robust engagement in the democratic process as the nation moves closer to concluding this extensive election period.