Varanasi voting turnout: Rural areas fare better

The rural parts of the Varanasi constituency have voted better compared to the urban areas. The Election Commission, which gives out an interim figure of the overall polling statistics, states that polling was anything between 55.34 to 57 per cent in the nigh-profile constituency.

The voter turnout was the highest at South Varanasi with 57 per cent polling. Areas such as Sevapuri and Rohinya, which are rural belts, too saw an impressive voter turn out with 54 and 51 per cent polling recorded respectively.‎

The Varanasi North assembly constituency witnessed polling of around 50 per cent.

At the Cantonment area the voting percentage was at 51 per cent although many had expected it to be much higher here.

Areas such as Nadesar, Banares Hindu University and Ram Nagar saw an impressive turn out. The Muslims too converged in large numbers to cast their vote. The community comprises of 3 lakh voters.

The only major drawback of the much-hyped election process in Varanasi was the missing names in the voters’ list. While the estimated number is around 200, 80 per cent of the names missing were from the Muslim community. They have alleged bias.

Chief Electoral Officer Umesh Sinha informed Rediff.comthat the polling went off smoothly. He said in some booths where voters were protesting they had to resort to mild lathi charge.

‎The returning officer Pranjal Yadav said that in some booths there were faulty machines that were found. “But those were rectified. There were no untoward incidents reported”, he added.

Image: Voters gather outside a polling booth at Sevapuri in Varanasi on Monday

Photograph: Sandeep Pal/Rediff.com