Largest phase of LS Polls concluded: 66% voter turnout

Polling for over half of the total Lok Sabha seats has been settled with the end of the third phase, which logged an overall 66% turnout across 15 states and Union Territories on Tuesday. According to the Election Commission, polling was in general normal apart from for a few insignificant occurrences.

In most of the states and Union Territories, the voting percentage was moderate to high covered except in Jammu and Kashmir, where few places in Anantnag parliamentary constituency went to polls and recorded just 12.8% turnout on Tuesday. Comparatively, the turnout across a majority of the states and UTs was worse than the polls recorded in 2014.

Anantnag, where six assembly segments had polling, encountered an accident at Kokernag involving a bus carrying poll officials and security personnel on Tuesday. The bus fell into a valley, injured five poll officials and several security personnel, killing one policeman. Anantnag is having staggered polling over three phases, where a bye-election could not be held for nearly two years in view of law and order issues.

A murder was reported in Murshidabad, West Bengal, although not within 100 meters of the polling booths. The murder was due to personal hatred between the dead and the accused as per the preliminary investigation report, by an EC official. In Dakshin Dinajpur, death of one "poll agent" Babu Lal Murmu was reported in another incident, though EC states that he was not on polling duty.

Around 821 voters in a polling station in Baksa district refused to vote over complaints with carrying out of government schemes In Assam. In Kerala, almost 11 voters died, although all were described as "natural deaths" according to the reports sent to EC.

In Thiruvananthapuram parliamentary constituency, a jammed EVM button was reported at a polling booth at Kovalam. When it was first reported, as many as 76 votes had already been cast and on confirmation the grievance concerning trouble in pressing the button allotted to Congress candidate, was found valid. The polling resumed as the machine was immediately replaced.