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 55 per cent turnout in second phase

          New Delhi: An estimated 55 per cent of more than 172 million voters exercised their franchise on Monday in the second phase of the general elections for 136 constituencies spread over 11 states amid reports of violence in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Manipur, Andhra Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir. Polling which started at seven this morning ended at five this evening. Barring insurgency-affected Manipur and Jammu and Kashmir, the voter turnout in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Goa, Orissa, Jharkhand and Assam was approximately 55 per cent. The second phase of the Assembly elections was also held in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Orissa.

          The Srinagar parliamentary constituency in Jammu and Kashmir registered the lowest 15 per cent polling which was held in the shadow of militant threats and poll boycott call by separatists. Manipur where underground militant groups had given a poll boycott call witnessed about 35 per cent polling. At least seven people were killed and several injured in poll related violence in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Manipur, Andhra Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir. The main contestants in the second round of the four-phase Lok Sabha elections are Congress President Sonia Gandhi from Rae Bareli in Uttar Pradesh, her son Rahul Gandhi from Amethi, BSP Chief and former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati from Akbarpur, RJD supremo Laloo Prasad Yadav is contesting against Union Civil Aviation Minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy from Chapra in Bihar, NDA convener and Defence Minister George Fernandes from Muzaffarpur, Lok Janshakti Party chief and former Union minister Ramvilas Paswan from Hajipur, National Conference President Omar Abdullah from Srinagar, NCP Chief Sharad Pawar from Baramati, filmstar Govinda, a Congress candidate, is pitted against Union Petroleum Minister Ram Naik from Mumbai North and Congress leader Sunil Dutt is contesting against Shiv Sena's Sanjay Nirupam from Mumbai North West. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and TDP supremo N Chandrababau Naidu is contesting the Assembly elections from Kuppam.

Violence breaks out in Bihar, Manipur, UP (Go To Top)

          Patna/Imphal/Lucknow: Incidents of violence were reported from Bihar, Manipur and Uttar Pradesh as the second phase of polling got under way on Monday. Reports from Patna said that a bomb had exploded at two polling booths in Chapra constituency from where former Bihar chief minister Laloo Prasad Yadav and Union Civil Aviation Minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy are contesting. No one was injured in the attacks that took place at Damodarpur-Sikatia and at Barwe. In Manipur's Thoubal and Imphal West Districts, militants exchanged fire with security forces in several places killing at least one CRPF personnel and injuring another person, official sources said. A heavy exchange of fire and bomb explosions were also reported between insurgents and CRPF personnel at a polling station in interior Mingthoukhong area in Bishenpur district. Eleven women's organisations had also issued a poll boycott call alleging government failure of preventing atrocities on civilians by central forces. In Uttar Pradesh's Ghaziapur District, a BJP supporter was shot dead and four others were injured in poll-related violence. The victim was later identified as Ranjit Singh, a BJP worker. Some persons have been taken in custody in this connection.

Blast in Vaishali, firing in Chapra (Go To Top)

          Vaishali (Bihar): A blast in Bihar on Monday disrupted polling in the third phase of national election in which 136 constituencies voted. The blast occurred near a polling booth in volatile Vaishali district. "They threw a bomb from the roadside. We were able to drag these people away with the help of villagers," said Dinesh Kamat, a policeman posted at the booth. Eyewitnesses said that the miscreants were trying to scare the voters. "They were trying to scare voters and their name was also not in the list as they were from an other village. They were firing and throwing bombs here," said Mahendra Rai, an eyewtiness.

           Unindentified men damaged Electronic Voting Machines in Chapra constituency, where the state's ruling Rashtriya Janta Dal chief Laloo Prasad Yadav is pitted against civil aviation minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy. Firing was also heard. Bhagat Ram, an eyewitness, said that during the incident, the polling officer was also hurt. "Some miscreants came and started throwing stones at us and polling officer was hit also. Then they damaged all the EVMs (electronic voting machines)," he said. Bhola Yadav, an injured man, blamed the federal ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) supporters for the incident. Sudhir, an eyewitness, said supporters of a local political leader fired at voters. "We were going to cast our vote when 10-12 people of Mukhtar Ansari shot at people in which my uncle is also injured," he said.

BJP demands re-poll in parts of Chhapra (Go To Top)

          New Delhi: The BJP on Monday complained to the Election Commission (EC) regarding the incidents of poll rigging in parts of Bihar and UP in the second phase of the ongoing general elections. The party demanded re-poll in the Parsa Assembly segment of the Chhapra Lok Sabha constituency. Party general secretary Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said that the demand was made in view of the large- scale violence witnessed during the polling. RJD chief Laloo Prasad Yadav and BJP's Rajiv Pratap Rudy, who is also the civil aviation minister in the NDA government, are in the fray in this Lok Sabha constituency. While Laloo has won at least twice from this seat, Rudy is a sitting MP from here. At least two persons, said to be BJP workers, were killed in police firing in Chhapra. Overall as many as 10 persons were killed and more than 125 injured in the second phase. Polling was held in a total of 136 seats across 11 states. In some cases, voting machines were damaged, and even stolen by miscreants. Naqvi alleged that the RJD government was indulging in undemocratic ways in contesting the polls. "The ruling Congress- RJD alliance in Bihar is finding itself hapless," he added. The BJP leader further said that Laloo's brother-in-law Subhash Yadav was allegedly found involved in activities adversely affecting the poll process, and a complaint has been made with the EC in this regard also. In Uttar Pradesh, Naqvi said, the Samajwadi Party, the BSP and the Congress were blamed for poll violence. "This indicates that their traditional votes were not in their favour this time," he claimed.

Migrant Kashmiri Pandits vote (Go To Top)

          Jammu: Migrant Kashmiri Hindus, living in relief camps across Jammu and Kashmir, cast their votes at special polling booths as polling was held for Srinagar constituency in the third phase of elections on Monday. The Kashmiri Pandits, as they are called, have been displaced from their homes in the upper reaches of the Himalayan state due to a 15 year rebellion against Indian rule, which has claimed over 40,000 lives. The Pandits claim over 700,000 of them have fled their native villages since 1990, when the killings of Hindus and attacks on their homes by Muslim militants gained momentum. While some of those displaced have made their way to Delhi and other parts of the country, about 200,000 bitter and disillusioned Pandits are still languishing in camps in and around Jammu. The Election Commission has set up special polling booths in Jammu and New Delhi for the large concentration of migrant Kashmiri Hindu population. Kashmiri Pandits also came out to vote in large numbers in New Delhi to vote.

No bridge, no vote (Go To Top)

         Binour: Now it is the turn of a remote village in Kanpur constituency to boycott the polls. Residents of Binour village in Uttar Pradesh have decided not to vote, protesting against lack of a bridge to cross the local Rind river. Villagers of Binour, with a 20,000 strong population, use a railway bridge to cross the river, a dangerous exercise, which has claimed hundreds of lives. For a long time the villagers have been demanding in vain for the construction of a parallel road bridge. Villagers said people walking over the bridge hardly get time to save their lives if a train happened to come along. "Position is that when the train comes, it takes only seven or eight seconds to cross the bridge. The bridge is 100 metres long and even a world champion cannot cross it before nine seconds. At least 15 seconds are needed to cross it. Due to this four-five persons die every month. The elected representatives care only about their rules but not about the death of the people. That is why we are boycotting elections," Kamlesh Dixit, a villager, said.

Goa's sex workers vote to save their homes (Go To Top)

          Baina (Goa): Sex workers in Goa turned up in hundreds to vote on Monday, their last bid at saving their homes, which are to be soon demolished under a government order. The Baina beach is infamous for flesh trade with sex workers operating in some 250 hutments. The entire area will be razed to ground in the coming months with dozens of sex workers who are from outside the state being deported. After months of rallying and protests, the women have been promised by their candidate that if elected he would save their colony or at least ensure a good rehabilitation package. Upbeat about the promises, the women braved blazing heat standing hours in queues to vote. Goa is one of the favoured tourist destinations in the country and has recently seen a rise in commercial sex-related activity. Though prostitution is illegal in India, all major cities have "red light areas" where prostitutes can be hired for a pittance. NGOs have been demading a legislation to ensure labour status for the prostitutes for over seven years now, but to no avail. Most prostitutes, estranged from social security systems and ostracised by society, lead extremely sorry lives. They live in derogatory conditions, with most of them falling prey to various sexually transmitted diseases like HIV/AIDS. Ninety-four percent of the country's three million sex workers are Indians, while the rest are mainly from neighbouring Bangladesh and Nepal. At least 600,000 minors are also employed in the profession and their number is said to increasing by almost 10 per cent every year.