65 Percent Exercise Franchise

An estimated 65 percent of the over 13 crore voters exercised franchise in assembly electionsin four states and the union territory of Pondicherry as violence marred balloting inAssam, West Bengal and Kerala claiming 13 lives. 

The fortunes of a number of leaders are at stake in these polls, includingthe West Bengal Chief Minister, Mr. Buddadheb Bhattacharjee, the Assam ChiefMinister, Mr. Prafulla Kumar Mahanta, the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, Mr. M.Karunanidhi, the former Kerala Chief Minister, Mr. A. K. Antony, as well as Ms.Jayalalitha and Ms. Mamata Banerjee, who are not in the electoral fray.

While six people, including four security personnel, were killed in Assam, an equal number, mostlyTrinamool Congress and CPI(M) activists, died in West Bengal during polling. ACPI(M) worker was killed in an attack allegedly by RSS activists in violence-proneKannur district of Kerala. 

In Assam, where polling took place under the shadow of ULFA attacks which claimed 37 people in the run up to the poll, 65
percent of the voters came out to cast ballots defying  militants' threats to choose their representatives for 125 ofthe 126 assembly seats.

Kerala registered the highest turnout (73 percent) among the five states, followed by West Bengal (71),Pondicherry
(65) and Tamil adu (58), Chief election commissioner M.S. Gill told reporters here.

Three Trinamool and two CPI(M) supporters were among six killed in poll-related skirmishes inWest Bengal where Trinamool congress Chief Mamata Banerjee did not cast her votein Kolkata protesting alleged prevention of lakhs of her party activists from casting votes.

Polling was largely peaceful in Keshpur in Midnapore district which was rocked by violence betweenTrinamool and CPI(M)
(M) workers killing scores of people in the last two year. 

At a press conference, the CEC, Dr. M.S. Gill, said three persons died inpoll-related incidents in West Bengal and six were killed in Assam in twoseparate incidents. (Reports from Kolkata had the figures of 5 deaths, whilethose from Guwahati claimed five). There was a palpable sense of relief that theAssam poll exercise passed off relatively peacefully. The ULFA- inspiredviolence had claimed as many as 37 lives in the run-up to the elections. Thestrategy seemed to be based on the assumption that a low turnoutwould adversely affect the chances of the AGP-BJP combine; but the 65 per centturnout could upset these calculations.

Kerala

The CPI(M) has called a dawn-to-dusk hartal in Peravoor constituency tomorrow, where one of its party workers was today hacked todeath by suspected RSS-BJP volunteers minutes after polling came to an end. 

CPI(M)district secretary E.P. Jayarajan said the protest had been called to deplore the "heinous crime" committedallegedly by RSS-BJP activists with the "clandestine" support of UDF workers. 

CPI(M) worker Biju alias Vijyan, a booth agent, was attacked by suspectedRSS-BJP volunteers when he was retuning from the booth in Thillangeri panchayat inIrritti. Another CPI(M) activist was injured in the attack. The incident followed an attack earlier in the day on aBJP activist who was allegedly stabbed by CPI(M) men, police said

Assam

The turnout in Assam was 65 per cent, with the voters braving militantthreats to exercise their franchise for assembly polls in which six people werekilled, ballots snatched and rigged in seven constituencies, a contestantinjured and another detained. A CRPF personnel, a police official and a havildarwere killed and another injured by suspected United Peoples' DemocraticSolidarity (UPDS) militants at Deohari under Bokajan police station of KarbiAnglong district. The UPDS militants attacked a polling station and opened firekilling the CRPF personnel on the spot and injured two other CRPF personnel andassistant sub inspector  Laskar.

Rigging and ballot-paper snatching was reported from seven constituencies--Katlicherra, Algapur, Hailakandi, Rangiya, Haja, Sarbhog and Bhabanipur.Inanother incident in Kokrajhar district, two people with intentions to rig thepolls were overpowered by the local people and were lynched to death atHasrabari in gossaigaon sub-division of Kokrajhar district, PTI said, quotingthe Deputy Commissioner J.I. Kathar. One person was killed in a retaliatoryattack later in Gossaigaon, police added.

Polling in the state for 125 of the 126 assembly seats was held amidstunprecedented security with air surveillance, river patrolling, intensive vigilat the border with Bangladesh under the watchful eyes of army and paramilitaryforces. Repolling has been ordered in 64 booths because of 'pollirregularities'.

West Bengal

Meanwhile, TM's poll ally, congress, accused the CPI (M) of resorting tobooth capturing and assaulting its candidates and demanded stern action againsterring poll officers. Briefing newsmen after the close of polling, WBPCCpresident, Pranab Mukherjee alleged that election officers did not comply withthe directives of the election commission at many places. Reports ofmalpractices from several constituencies were received by his party, he said. Healleged that neither the police nor the polling officials checked the identitycards of voters at many booths which facilitated proxy voting for ruling frontcandidates.Mukherjee said he had faxed a message to the chief electioncommissioner M.S. Gill during the day drawing his attention to theirregularities and urged him to take immediate steps to stop malpractices."Despite repeated reminders to the chief election commissioner, none of thepolling officials were complying with the guidelines. It was not a free and fairelections", he alleged. 

Repolling has been ordered in 11 booths because of 'poll irregularities'.

Tamil Nadu

Nearly 53 per cent of the 4.75 crore voters exercised their franchise in the 234 assemblyconstituencies according to the state's Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), MrutunjaySarangi. Since a long queue of people yet to cast their votes remained when polling closed at 1600 hrs, they were givenslips to cast ballots after the polling hours. "The exact percentage will, therefore, be known only tomorrow," he saidin a press release here tonight. He said polling for the assembly elections and theby-election to the lok sabha from Tiruchirappalli constituency passed off peacefully barring a few minor incidents.

Deputy Assembly Speaker and DMK candidate, Parithi Ellamvazhuthi, escaped unhurtwhen a group led by a rival candidate attacked a DMK election office here today, a report from chennai said

'Our Rocket Does Not Go Up But Stays There'

Contrary to the hype over the efficiency of electronic voting machines (EVMS),the election commission admitted that about a 100 machines had to be replaceddue to malfunctioning but maintained that this was just a fraction of the 1. 6lakh machines used for today's assembly polls in five states."Less than a100 EVMS had to be replaced. Some odd machines might have some little flaw. Butwe had complete backup system in all polling stations and voting was notaffected", chief election commissioner M.S. Gill told reporters. "IfISRO chairman K. Kasturirangan can be proud of his rockets, we are proud of EVMS.The only difference is that our rocket does not go up but stays there", hesaid adding that voting electronically and through identity cards had sunk intoIndian electors' psyche. He also made light of charges by AIADMK supremoJayalalitha of tampering of EVMS saying even supreme court had put its stamp ofapproval on the use of the machines. Referring to the coming assembly electionsin Uttar Pradesh and Punjab, he asked the voters to be prepared for votingelectronically.Gill even offered Britain, which is going to polls on June 7,assistance in voting electronically saying even today the English exercise theirfranchise through ballot papers. "They (EVMS) are cheap costing just about400 USD per set", he said. The commission has at present three lakh evmswhich the CEC said are perpetual instruments for elections.

'De Facto Boss Of Governors Is An Unfocussed Home Minister And PoorAdministrator''

Meanwhile, Congress reacted sharply to home minister L.K. Advani's reportedstatement that AIADMK leader Jayalalitha was disqualified to become chiefminister, saying such remarks by the ''de facto boss of governors'' areobviously ''intended to intimidate and influence'' the decision makingauthority. Party spokesman Jaipal Reddy told reporters that since the Tamil Nadugovernor is a former Supreme Court judge, ''Advani cannot presume to know morelaw than the governor''.As governors are ''vulnerable'' to influence from Delhi,the party was taking exception to the timing and manner of the statement of thehome minister who is the ''de facto boss of governors'', he said adding that bymaking such a remark Advani has shown that he was an ''impertinent'' homeminister. He also said that the bomb blasts near the south block in the capitalyesterday have exposed the ''hollow claims'' of BJP on the law and order frontand showed Advani as an An unfocussed home minister and poor administrator''