Around 20% Countrywide Polling In First Three Hours: Reports

New Delhi: Around 20 per cent voters had cast their votes till around 10am in the first phase of the 2019 Lok Sabha and four state Assembly elections on Thursday.

The Election Commission is expected to issue a mid-day bulletin on voter turnout.

Voting is taking place in 91 out of 543 constituencies. About 20 crore voters are eligible to cast their votes in this phase.

Voter turnout in some states:

Bihar:

Media reports said voting percentage stood at 13.46 per cent in Aurangabad, 19 per cent in Goa, 14 per cent in Jamui and only 9 per cent in Nawada.

Bengal:

Alipurduar and Cooach Behar are the two parliamentary constituencies going to polls in the first phase. Till about 10am, these two seats recorded a polling percentage of close to 20 per cent.

Polling had to be stopped in a couple of booths in Cooch Behar following a pitched battle between TMC and BJP supporters.

Uttar Pradesh:

As per initial trends, voter turnout in Baghpat, one of eight constituencies where voting is taking place in Uttar Pradesh, stood at 18 per cent till 10am.

Among the other constituencies, Saharanpur leads with 13 per cent, followed by Muzaffarnagar and Ghaziabad with 12 per cent and then Bijnor, Meerut and Kairana with 11 per cent turnout.

Jammu and Kashmir:

According to News18, till 9am, the polling percentage in Bandipora stood at a pathetic 2.4 per cent while in Sumbal Sonawari it was at 7 per cent. Only 6 per cent voted in Gurez.

Chhattisgarh:

Polling in Bastar district is taking place under the cloud of a Maoist threat. Amid heavy security arrangements, voters queued up at the polling booths. The polling percentage is not clear yet.

Andhra Pradesh:

Polling began at a slow pace in the state, with a large number of EVM malfunctions being reported. However, as the day progressed, long queues were witnessed outside polling stations. According to Times Now, 23 per cent polling has been recorded so far.

Earlier in the day, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat and general secretary Bhaiyyaji Joshi were among the first few to cast their votes in Nagpur. The duo arrived at a polling booth at Bhauji Daftari School in Mahal area around 6.50am. Nagpur is voting in the first phase.

The seat has witnessed a high-voltage campaign in the run-up to the polls. BJP heavyweight and union minister Nitin Gadkari, who is considered close to the RSS camp, has locked horns with Nana Patole of the Congress.