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Violence mars final phase of Panchayat elections, 4 killed

80 per cent polling recorded; fate of 2.47 lakh candidates sealed

LUCKNOW: At least four people were killed and 30 wounded in poll violence during the fourth and final phase of the Panchayat elections in Uttar Pradesh on Thursday. A home department spokesman, however, confirmed only two deaths as poll-related.

The poll percentage was around 80 per cent, said State Election Commission (SEC) sources here.

One person was killed and four were injured in a group clash at Faridpur village under the Aliganj police station in Etah district, another man, Narendra Singh (25), was shot dead under the Ghiror block in Mainpuri district.

Meanwhile, the wife of a gram pradhan candidate in Duttacholi Khurd village of Aligarh district was shot dead by unidentified miscreants.

The husband of a woman candidate was also shot dead near the Nigramod polling station at Haiserbazar in Sant Kabirnagar district.

Three persons were injured in clashes in Jaunpur district. Reports of violence also came from Mainpuri and Kanpur (Rural) districts.

Reports of minor clashes and disruption of polling by anti-social elements were received from Ghazipur, Barabanki, Sultanpur, Pratapgarh, Varanasi, Bulandshahr, Meerut, Muzaffarnagar and Baghpat districts.

The SEC had already suspended polling in Azamgarh district for scheduled following incessant rains and flooding in the Ghagra river. "Polling had been suspended at all the six blocks of Azamgarh,'' sources said.

Meanwhile, re-poll in 112 booths, where polling took place during the third phase on August 23, was also held on Thursday.

At least one death was reported in the first phase of polling on August 17, followed by three in the second phase on August 20 and four during the third phase on August 23. Over 100 people had sustained wounds in group clashes during the polls.

The State police chief, Yashpal Singh, told newsmen here that the toll of six deaths and 138 injured this time was much less than in the previous Panchayat polls in which 27 people lost their lives and 238 were injured.

Altogether 545 pradhans and 3,07,901 gram Panchayat members had been elected unopposed. The SEC had ordered a probe to find out whether there were any irregularities in the unopposed elections of the pradhans.

The fate of 2.47 lakh candidates for the post of pradhans and gram Panchayat members was sealed in the final phase on Thursday. There are posts of 11,958 gram pradhans and 1,50,227 Panchayat members at stake during the last phase.

Any re-poll, if required after the fourth phase, will be held on August 28, the day when the counting of votes will be taken up at block level.

Most results would be declared by August 29. --UNI/PTI

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