Moderate to brisk voting in 4th phase, two killed in violence

Moderate to brisk voting was recorded till early afternoon in Thursday's fourth phase of Lok Sabha elections in eight states and union territories which was marred by sporadic violence in West Bengal and Rajasthan where two persons were killed.

While a high turnout of 35 to 40 per cent was registered in Punjab, Haryana and West Bengal, voting percentages varied from nearly 30 per cent each in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh to about 25 per cent in Delhi and Rajasthan. Around ten per cent of electorate had exercised its franchise till midday for the Srinagar parliamentary seat.

A 28-year-old CPI(M) worker, Kashinath Mondal (28) killed when unidentified persons hurled bombs at him while he was returning after casting his vote at Eroali village under the West Bengal's Jangipur parliamentary constituency in Murshidabad district, Superintendent of Police BL Meena said.

External Affairs minister and Congress heavyweight, Pranab Mukherjee, is contesting from Jangipur.

One person was killed when paramilitary personnel opened fire to prevent a mob from capturing a booth in Olwara village in Rajasthan's Sawaimadhopur district, police said in Jaipur.

As many as 9.46 crore people are eligible to vote in the 85 constituencies where polling is being held in the fourth phases. 1,315 candidates including 119 women are in the fray.

A youth received splinter injuries during a clash at Aadhikaripara in Nandigram under Tamluk constituency in West Bengal, police said.

Two persons, who were standing in queue to cast their vote, died of sunstroke at Khejuri under Tamluk constituency and Bhaktanagar in adjoining Kanthi constituency in East Midnapore district in the state, according to district police superintendent Pallab Kanti Ghosh.

A petrol bomb was hurled at a polling booth on the outskirts of Srinagar two hours ahead of polling but no one was injured. Minor skirmishes were reported in Punjab and Haryana while polling elsewhere, including in the seven seats in Delhi, was by and large peaceful.

Among the early voters were president Pratibha Patil, vice president Hamid Ansari, Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi, Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah, Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit, Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal, his deputy Sukhbir Singh Badal, Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and Union minister Kapil Sibal.

BJP president Rajnath Singh (Ghaziabad), SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav (Mainpuri), RJD supremo Lalu Prasad (Pataliputra) and National Conference chief Farooq Abdullah (Srinagar) besides Pranab Mukherjee are the big names contesting in this phase.

While polling for the Srinagar seat began on a dull note, 39-year-old Omar Abdullah said after casting his vote, "People are coming out to vote regardless of the boycott call given by the separatists and this itself is a healthy sign."

Other prominent candidates include Congress' Kapil Sibal (Chandni Chowk), Sachin Pilot (Ajmer), Shekhar Suman (Patna Saheb), Ajay Maken (New Delhi), BJP's Shatrughan Sinha (Patna Saheb), HJC's Bhajan Lal (Hisar) and RLD's Ajit Singh (Baghpat).

Brisk polling was reported right from the start of polling in Punjab for four of the 13 Lok Sabha seats, including hyper sensitive seats of Bathinda and Patiala. The other nine seats in the state will go to polls in the last phase on May 13.

Since the polls began on April 16, election has been completed to 372 seats of the 545-member Lok Sabha. Elections are held only to 543 seats, as two members are nominated from the Anglo-Indian community.