Over 79% of eligible voters turn out for the Haryana panchayat elections despite violent occurrences in various locations.

  • Nov. 3, 2022, 11:42 a.m.

Amid incidents of violence at some places, over 79 percent of the polls were counted (till 5 p.m.) in the first phase of Haryana’s panchayat elections to elect panches and sarpanches in nine districts of the state.

The polling, which began at 7 a.m. and continued till 6 p.m., took place in the districts of Bhiwani, Jhajjar, Jind, Kaithal, Mahendragarh, Nuh, Panchkula, Panipat, and Yamunanagar. Incidents of stone pelting and clashes were reported from two villages in Nuh, though police said these incidents did not take place at the polling booth and the poll process remained unaffected.

"There is no incident at the polling booth." However, there were some incidents of fighting and stone-pelting in two villages. "The polling process is unaffected," Nuh’s Superintendent of Police Varun Singla told media persons.

By 12 p.m., among the districts, Nuh had recorded 42.2 percent of the vote, Panchkula 40.4 percent, Kaithal 36.1 percent, and Jind recorded 35.9 percent. However, by 5 p.m., Panchkula was leading with over 85.4 percent polling. Incidents of violence were reported in Jhajjar’s village, Jahindpur, where two groups clashed with each other and a few sustained injuries. Similar incidents of clashes were also reported from Kalayat in Kaithal district’s village of Julani Khera.

In Narnaul’s village, Ropar Sarai, also, two groups clashed and pelted stones at each other, leaving six to seven persons injured.

The Superintendent of Police, Vikrant Bhushan, reached the spot with heavy police force and brought the situation under control.

In Kalayat, villagers also blocked the Chandigarh-Hisar national highway for some time in protest against allegations of irregularities at a polling booth in Pandva village. By 5 p.m., Bhiwani had recorded 78.1 percent polling, followed by Jhajjar (75.7%), Jind (78.5%), Kaithal (75.6%), Mahendragarh (78.7%), Nuh (80.7%), Panipat (80.1%), and Yamunanagar (83.2%). Panchkula was leading with over 85.4% of the vote. On Tuesday, Haryana State Election Commissioner Dhanpat Singh said that 2,607 sarpanches and 25,968 panches in these nine districts would be elected through the polls on November 2.

The first phase of polls for zila parishads and panchayat samitis in these districts was held on October 30.

A total of 49 lakh voters in nine districts were supposed to cast their votes at 6019 polling booths. There are 6,220 Gram Panchayats in the state, where 61,993 panches will be elected and all 6,220 Sarpanches will be chosen directly by the villagers.

While the results of the panch-sarpanch elections will be declared at the end of voting in each phase, the results of zila parishads and panchayat samiti members will be declared on November 27, after all three phases of polling have been completed.

In the second phase, voting for zilla parishad and panchayat samiti members will be held on November 9, while polling for sarpanches and panches will be held on November 12 in Ambala, Charkhi Dadri, Gurugram, Karnal, Kurukshetra, Rewari, Rohtak, Sirsa, and Sonipat districts.

The third and final phase of polling in the remaining districts of Hisar, Palwal, Faridabad, and Fatehabad to elect members of the zila parishad and panchayat samitis will be held on November 22, and that of sarpanches and panches on November 25. "The activities of the Panchayat elections will be updated on the "Mhari Panchayat Portal." The voting percentage can be seen anywhere in the state by opening the Mhari Panchayat Portal through the internet. At the same time, the results will be visible on the e-dashboard on the day of counting. "Anyone can see the election trends, voting percentage, and final results on the portal while sitting at home," Dhanpat Singh said.

Author : Rajdhani Delhi Representative

Rajdhani delhi representative

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