59.06% polling in 6th phase

New Delhi: An approximate voter turnout of 59.06 per cent was recorded in the sixth phase of the Lok Sabha elections on Saturday in 58 constituencies across six states and two Union territories with the polling percentage in the Jangal Mahal region of West Bengal touching 78.19.

Incidents of minor clashes and protests were reported from West Bengal while there were instances of EVM malfunctioning at some places, including Delhi. Jharkhand recorded a turnout of 62.74 per cent, Uttar Pradesh 54.03 per cent, Bihar 53.30 per cent, Jammu and Kashmir 52.28 per cent, Haryana 58.37 per cent, Odisha 60.07 and Delhi 54.48 per cent, according to the figures released by the Election Commission (EC) as of 7.45 pm.

The EC said polling percentage in the Anantnag-Rajouri seat in Jammu and Kashmir is the highest in many decades. With the conclusion of this phase, polling is now complete in 486 seats in 28 states and Union territories. The last of the seven phases of polling is scheduled on June 1 and counting of votes will be taken up on June 4.

With large parts of India sweltering under a heatwave, arrangements for cold water, coolers, fans and tents were made at several polling stations. Wheelchairs were also kept for the assistance of elderly voters.

The EC had directed election officials and state machineries to take adequate measures to manage the adverse impact of hot weather.

Over 11.13 crore voters - 5.84 crore male, 5.29 crore female and 5120 third gender - were eligible to exercise their franchise in this phase. The Election Commission (EC) deployed around 11.4 lakh polling officials at 1.14 lakh polling stations.

Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chief Mehbooba Mufti, who is contesting from the Anantnag-Rajouri seat in Jammu and

Kashmir, staged a sit-in outside Bijbehara police station on the Srinagar-Jammu national highway in

Anantnag district against alleged detention of her party workers and polling agents. She also claimed outgoing calls on her mobile number were suspended.

Mehbooba's daughter and PDP leader Iltija Mufti alleged polling was deliberately slowed down at a booth in the Anantnag-Rajouri constituency, a charge denied by the administration.

In the national capital, President Droupadi Murmu, Union ministers S Jaishankar and Hardeep Singh Puri, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Delhi minister Atishi and Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi were among those who cast their votes.

CPI(M) leader Brinda Karat alleged she had to

wait for almost an

hour to cast her vote as the battery of the EVM control unit at her polling booth "drained out".