Daijiworld Media Network - New Delhi

New Delhi, Apr 12: While Tripura with 81.8% and West Bengal with 80% topped the charts so far, Election Commission pointed out that the first phase of polling more or less matches the voting percentages recorded in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.

Baramullah in Jammu and Kashmir reported a 35.06 per cent voter turnout, the lowest among the 91 Lok Sabha constituencies across 20 states which went to polls on Thursday. As the first of the seven-phase election, this will determine the next Lok Sabha.

Andhra Pradesh and Telangana reported a voter turnout of 66% and 55%, respectively. Telangana reported a voter turnout of 60% in 2014. In Maharashtra, the seven parliamentary constituencies reported a voter turnout of 56% as against 63% last time, while the eight parliamentary constituencies in Uttar Pradesh reported a voter turnout of 63.69 per cent compared to 65% in 2014. The four parliamentary constituencies in Bihar reported a 50% turnout which is the same as last time. Polling is now complete in 10 states and union territories.

This is the first Lok Sabha election where VVPAT (Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail) were used. The EC reported a minimal replacement of 0.7% of EVM (Electronic Voting Machines) ballot units, 0.6% of EVM control units and 1.7% VVPATs. Cash seizures so far are double those of the entire 2014 election at Rs 607 crore, as per the report published in TOI.

As per TOI report, seizures by the EC till Thursday touched Rs 2,426 crore, more than double the overall figure for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. The seizures included Rs 607 crore in cash (as against Rs 303 crore seized in 2014), liquor worth Rs 198 crore, drugs totalling Rs 1,091 crore, gold worth Rs 486 crore and other freebies worth Rs 48 crore. As for complaints from some constituencies about voters not finding their names in the rolls upon reaching the polling station, the EC said it had already initiated the ‘GoVerify’ campaign to avoid such eventualities.