Both Maharashtra and Haryana reported provisionally lower poll turnout in today’s Assembly polls as compared to 2014.

While Maharashtra registered a provisional voter turnout of 60.5 per cent for the 288 seats (down from 63.08 per cent in 2014), Haryana scored 65 per cent for its 90 Assembly seats (down from 76.54 per cent in 2014), the Election commission said late this evening.

EC officials felt that the final percentage of voter turnout in both the States will be close to what was reported in the last Assembly elections in these States, adding that the polling passed off largely peaceful.

1.82 crore voters were eligible to vote in Haryana, while in Maharashtra 8.97 crore electors were eligible to vote.

There were also by-elections for a number of Assembly constituencies in various States: one in Arunachal Pradesh which reported a voter turnout of 89.27 per cent, one in Meghalaya where the voter turnout was 84.56 per cent, while the five Assembly seats in Bihar reported a voter turnout of 49 per cent. The 11 Assembly constituencies in Uttar Pradesh reported a voter turnout of approximately 47 per cent, the Commission said.

While voter turnout in the Maharashtra and Haryana Assembly elections either remained static or provisionally showed a drop, there was a jump in the seizure of cash, liquor and freebies during the latest elections as compared to the 2014 elections.

While the authorities seized ₹156.94 crore in Maharashtra including cash worth ₹60.69 crore, precious metals worth over ₹53 crore and liquor worth over ₹23.4 crore — which is almost five times the total seizures made in 2014 at around ₹ 30 crore.

Similarly, authorities seized ₹24.17 crore in Haryana, including cash worth ₹9.1 crore and liquor worth ₹11.08 crore. During the previous Assembly elections, this figure stood at around ₹8.58 crore.

Related Topics
comment COMMENT NOW