Dip in temperature helps Akola register 60% voter turnout

NAGPUR: Over 60% voting took place in Akola Lok Sabha seat, which is 1.5% more than 2014. Sources in the district administration said that the figure was likely to go up when the final tally will be calculated early on Friday morning.


Compilation of data was going on till filing of the report as voting in many booths went on beyond the stipulated time of 6pm.

The seat is witnessing a triangular contest between BJP MP Sanjay Dhotre, Prakash Ambedkar of Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) and Hidayat Patel of Congress.

Polling

in Akola constituency comprising Akot, Balapur, Akola (West), Akola (East), Murtijapur and Risod assembly segments, was 8.08% till 9am. It increased to 20.52% by 11am and 34.42% by 1pm.

Due to lower temperature following rainstorms over the last couple of days voters came out in large numbers as the day progressed. The maximum temperature in Akola city was 38 degree C on Thursday.

However, votes stayed in their homes during the afternoon. The voting had increased to 45.39% by 3pm. By 5pm the polling percentage had touched 54.32%.

In a heartening incident, an anganwadi helper came to the aid of a senior citizen who had come to vote and developed pain in his foot. Kisanlal Sharma (96) had gone to Lonagra polling booth for voting. When he complained of discomfort, the helper took out a pain relieving spray from the first aid kit available at the booth and applied it to his foot. Sharma got instant relief and then went home.

Many transgenders living in Uday Talkies area of Akola exercised their franchise. They urged other voters to perform their national duty. This is the first time that they have been classified in a different category. Earlier, they were included in male or female category as per whims of local officials.

Many voters in Akot town could not caste their vote as their names were missing from electoral rolls. They went home disappointed. Same was the case with Lakadganj area of Akola city.

Police personnel posted in Mothi Umri Zilla Parishad Marathi School had to go without water and lunch due to lack of coordination between election staffers. It was only after the local media highlighted this fact that the district administration did the needful.

Voters at Shriram School, Akola, had to face minor inconvenience when power supply went off in the afternoon. However, enough sunlight was coming through the ventilators to allow them to caste votes.

The election saw its share of acrimony too. Congress leader Subhash Korpe complained to Akola district collector Jiten Papalkar regarding illegal canvassing of BJP. Polling booth manned by women only were decorated by the district administration. A wooden cannon decorated with lotus petals was kept as a part of embellishment. Korpe claimed that the petals were promoting BJP.

Man smashes EVM

A man badly damaged an electronic voting machine (EVM) in Kawtha village of Balapur taluka by forcefully throwing it on the floor. Instead of casting his vote Krushna Ghare lifted the EVM and threw it before election staffers could do anything. Ghare later told the media that he wanted voting to take place through ballot papers and was against use of EVMs, which he believed were tampered. He was immediately held by the police personnel posted at the booth and a case was registered against him at the Balapur police station.