By-Election turnout drops under 45% in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh, while Andhra Pradesh and Jharkhand record 56% and 67% respectively
New Delhi: The by-election turnout was reported to be less than 45% in Punjab, Delhi, and Uttar Pradesh, while it was 56% in Jharkhand and 67% in Andhra Pradesh. It’s possible that the final numbers will vary.
Except for the stabbing of a police officer in Tripura, where voting was the highest at 76.62 percent, voting in the by-elections for three Lok Sabha and seven assembly seats held on Thursday was largely an amiable affair.
The leader of the Samajwadi Party, Akhilesh Yadav, accused the BJP of using its position of authority improperly to obstruct voting in the by-elections for the Azamgarh and Rampur Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh, where turnout was 43%.
In Tripura, an astonishing 76.62 percent of voters participated in the by-elections for four assembly seats. An off-duty police officer was stabbed in the Agartala constituency, according to Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Kiran Gitte, who added that he received medical attention.
The ruling BJP asserted that it is certain that they will win all four of the seats: Agartala, Jubarajnagar, Surma, and Town Bardowali.
From Bardowali, Chief Minister Manik Saha is running for office. He must win to retain his CM position. After the previous Chief Minister, Biplab Deb, abruptly resigned, he was chosen as the Rajya Sabha member last month.
A low turnout of little over 37% was recorded in Punjab for the by-election for the Sangrur Lok Sabha seat.
Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann asked the Election Commission to extend the voting period till 7 p.m. in a tweet, noting the fact that many people were still working in the fields because it was paddy-sowing season. The state chief secretary and the deputy commissioner-cum-returning officer for Sangrur both requested an extension of the polling period from the electoral panel.
The electoral panel reprimanded the officials over the request and demanded an explanation from them, stating it amounted to “attempt of unduly interfering in the election process and influence certain class of voters”.
In Delhi’s Rajinder Nagar assembly district, upwards of 43% turnout was recorded. The by- election is primarily viewed as a contest between the BJP and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), both of whom are self-assured to attain victory.
In the by-election for the Atmakuru assembly seat in Andhra Pradesh, over 67% of voters participated.
According to State Chief Electoral Officer Mukesh Kumar Meena, except for a few minor instances, voting took place without any violent events, substantial complaints, or interruptions.
In Ranchi district’s Mandar assembly bypoll in Jharkhand, 56.03 percent of voters turned out. The need for the by-election resulted from Bandhu Tirkey’s disqualification as an MLA following his role in a corruption case. The JMM-led alliance’s common candidate was Shilpa Neha Tirkey, of Congress, while Gangotri Kujur was put forth by the BJP.
Akhilesh Yadav, the leader of the Samajwadi Party and MLA who won election to the Uttar Pradesh assembly earlier this year, resigned, forcing a by-election for the Azamgarh seat as Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan, who was re-elected here, left the Rampur seat.
The by-election in Punjab was necessitated because of Mr. Mann’s withdrawal from the Lok Sabha after his election success as MLA candidate earlier this year.
In the parliamentary elections of 2014 and 2019, he won the Sangrur seat.
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