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Friday, Feb 04, 2005

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Polling in Haryana peaceful

By Rajesh Ahuja

Photo: V. V. Krishnan

Voters at a polling booth in Meham village in Rohtak district of Haryana during the first phase of Assembly elections, on Thursday.

CHANDIGARH, FEB.3. Barring a few stray incidents of poll violence in the prestigious Narwana constituency and the murder of the driver of the Congress candidate in the Barwala constituency, polling in Haryana for the State Assembly elections today was by and large peaceful.

Even though the polling for the 90 Assembly constituencies started at a moderate pace thanks to the chill weather and fog, it picked up later in the day when the sun shone in its glory. According to the State Chief Secretary, Sunil Ahuja, and the Chief Electoral Officer, Urvashi Gulati, as per preliminary estimates, nearly 70 per cent of the 1.27 crore electorate exercised their franchise.

According to poll pundits, such a heavy turnout indicated that the anti-incumbency wave against the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) had come into play and confirmed that the Congress was on its way to form the next Government in the State.

The Director General of Haryana Police, A.S. Bhatotia, claimed that polling had taken place in a free and fair manner in a peaceful atmosphere but admitted that stray incidents had taken place in the Narwana and Barwala constituencies. He asserted that foolproof security arrangements were made to ensure free and fair polls by deploying about 53,000 personnel belonging to the police, the Home Guards and para-military forces, who fully observed the directive of being impartial. He assured that para-military forces and the State Armed Police would guard the electronic voting machines which were being kept in strongrooms round the clock.

Interestingly, there was tension in Narwana where the working president of the Haryana unit of the Congress, Randeep Singh Surjewala, is locked in a contest with the INLD supremo and Chief Minister, Om Prakash Chautala.

There were reports of minor clashes in Karamgarh and a few other places between Congress and INLD supporters. However, the police and para-military forces brought the situation under control. While reports said that several persons were injured, the Returning Officer asserted that nobody had been hurt. Meanwhile, the Deputy Commissioner of Jind, Rajeev Sharma, clarified that body recovered from a sewage in Narwana today morning had been identified as one Sunder Lal who died due to consuming excessive alcohol. He claimed that the deceased had no political affiliations.

There was tension in Mirchpur village in the Barwala constituency after Kulbir Singh, the driver of the Congress candidate, was allegedly shot dead following a quarrel with the INLD supporters.

The Congress MP from Hissar, Jai Prakash, alleged that the driver was shot by persons close to the INLD nominee. There were also reports of minor skirmishes between Congress and INLD workers in Ballabgarh constituency.

It is learnt that the Sirsa police registered a case under various sections of the Indian Penal Code against three Congress activists, including the son-in-law of the party nominee and former minister, Lachhman Dass Arora, in connection with an attack in which three INLD workers were injured.

According to reports, there was heavy turnout in Mandi Adampur and Narwana, the constituencies of two strong Congress Chief Ministerial aspirants -- Bhajan Lal and Randeep Singh Surjewala. A large number of men and women exercised their mandate both in the urban and rural areas though polling was relatively less in Gurgaon constituency where an estimated 53.50 per cent of the voters cast their votes. According to preliminary data, 82.15 per cent polling was recorded in Narwana and 82.31 per cent in Adampur. In fact, Mr.Bhajan Lal, former State Chief Minister and president of the Haryana unit of the Congress, and his wife, Jasma Devi, were among the first to cast their votes in Adampur. However, a controversy was generated as his political rivals who alleged that he had shown his vote to the electronic media. Mrs.Gulati said the matter was being investigated and action would be taken against the polling staff and the electronic media as per the directive of the Election Commission of India.

According to Mrs.Gulati, Haryana has 1.27 crore voters, including 58.31 lakh women and 983 candidates, including 60 women, are in the fray. The Election Department had set up 12,636 polling stations. She admitted that there were some minor hiccups regarding the electronic voting machines but these were sorted out. The BJP, which is claiming to form the next government, demanded cancellation of polling in the Kalka constituency where Chander Mohan, the son of Mr.Bhajan Lal, is seeking re-election.

A BJP spokesman alleged that the election agents of the party nominee, Shyam Lal Bansal, has not been allowed to enter the polling booths. However, Mrs.Gulati said that these agents had been denied permission as their authority letters did not carry the signature of the candidate.

Interestingly, Mr.Chautala reportedly refused to cast his vote on the plea that he would not do so till an old Election Commission ruling that he could not vote in his village was not withdrawn. In the last Assembly elections, held in 2000, the Congress had bagged 21 seats, INLD 47, BJP six, and Independents and other smaller parties 16 seats.

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Polling in Haryana peaceful