48% polling in Punjab till 4 pm, EVM glitches, minor clashes reported

A voter turnout of 48.74 per cent was recorded till 4 pm in the 13 Lok Sabha seats of Punjab, amid reports of EVM glitches and minor clashes between Congress and Shiromani Akali Dal-Bharatiya Janata Party (SAD-BJP) workers.

More than 50 per cent turnout was registered in the Chandigarh Lok Sabha seat till 4 pm, officials said.

Patiala witnessed the highest voting percentage of 53.88, while Amritsar recorded the lowest at 44.10 per cent.

In the morning, there were some reports of technical glitches in EVMs at several places including Ludhiana, Samana and Moga. There were reports of clashes between the Congress and Akali-BJP workers at Talwandi Sabo in Bathinda and Gurdaspur.

At Talwandi Sabo, the Shiromani Akali Dal alleged that shots were also fired by Congress workers. Punjab Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) S Karuna Raju said, eight ballot units, 13 control units, and eight voter-verified paper audit trail (VVPAT) had been replaced.

"An incident of firing was reported in Talwandi Sabo in Bathinda constituency," Punjab CEO S Karuna Raju said.

S Karuna Raju said a voter was nabbed for clicking picture inside the polling booth in Ludhiana and a case had been registered against him under the Representation of the People Act (RPA).

Union minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal, after casting her vote in Bathinda, accused the state government of misusing official machinery to intimidate SAD supporters.

Voters, including elders, women and the youth, queued up early morning at several polling stations to exercise their franchise.

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, his wife, Preneet Kaur, along with his other family members also exercised their franchise at Patiala in the afternoon.

Earlier, Former Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, SAD Chief Sukhbir Singh Badal, his wife, Harsimrat Kaur Badal, and their two daughters also voted.

Among the early voters who cast their votes include cricketer Harbhajan Singh, Anandpur Sahib Congress candidate Manish Tewari, sitting Patiala MP Dharamvira Gandhi, BJP Secretary Tarun Chugh, State Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal and Amritsar Congress candidate Gurjeet Singh Aujla.

Prominent faces among candidates who are in fray in Punjab include SAD Chief Sukhbir Singh Badal and Union Ministers Harsimrat Kaur Badal and Hardeep Puri.

Over 2.07 crore voters in Punjab are eligible to exercise their franchise in the election, in which 278 candidates, including 24 women, are in the fray.

On most of the 13 seats, the contest appears to be a direct fight between the Congress and the SAD-BJP alliance.

In 2014, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the SAD had won four seats each, the Congress three and the BJP two.

More than one lakh security personnel including paramilitary force have been deployed in the state for holding free and fair polling, officials said.

Over 3.94 lakh voters, who fall in the 18-to-19-year age group, would exercise their franchise for the first time in Punjab.