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Thursday, Oct 14, 2004

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65 per cent polling in Punjab

By Our Staff Correspondent

CHANDIGARH, OCT. 13. Barring a few incidents of minor scuffles, polling for the by-elections for the two Assembly seats of Kapurthala and Garhshankar, in Punjab, remained peaceful. The administration had made elaborate security arrangements, as the electorate sealed the fate of 11 candidates in each constituency while exercising their right to franchise through electronic voting machines (EVMs).

By-elections were necessitated at Kapurthala, Garhshankar and Ajnala, after their sitting legislators, Rana Gurjit Singh, Avinash Rai Khanna and Rattan Singh were elected to Lok Sabha on Congress, BJP and Akali Dal tickets, respectively. The Ajnala by-election has been withheld pending a court case.

In the present by-poll, Rana Gurjit Singh's relative Sukhjinder Kaur is defending the challenge from Raghbir Singh of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) in what appears to be a direct contest. A multi-cornered contest came up at Garhshankar, where BJP has put up Mohinderpal Mann, Congress has Luv Kumar Goldy, CPI (M) fielded Mahan Singh Rori, and BSP has Rashpal Singh Raju, while two times MLA for the BSP, Shingara Ram Shangura is also in the fray as an Independent.

Quoting preliminary reports the Chief Electoral Officer, Babu Lal said nearly 65 per cent polling was reported in both constituencies. He said after receiving a formal report, the Election Commission would give its ruling on possible repoll at a couple of booths in Garhshankar, where the BJP has alleged disruption and bogus voting by the Congress supporters.

In Kapurthala, the Election Commission had declared as many as 113 out of the total 116 polling stations as sensitive. Witnesses said that the constituency wore a cantonment like appearance. Apart from the township, Kapurthala has about 140 villages, where 1.21 lakh voters exercised their right to franchise.

At Garhshankar, where 1.19 lakh voters are registered, about 30 of the 117 booths in two towns and 152 villages had been identified as sensitive. As compared to three observers in Kapurthala, the Election Commission had posted just one at Garhshankar.

While Congress supporters have claimed that voting was peaceful, the Akali-BJP alliance alleged that the ruling party misused the official machinery. Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) secretary, D.S. Cheema alleged that the police openly sided with the Congress at Kapurthala, where at least three Akali workers were taken into custody much before the polling began.

Dr. Cheema also accused Congress supporters of indulging in booth capturing, kidnapping of BJP polling agents and intimidation of voters at various places.

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