Over 68 per cent polling in Haryana, one killed

About 68.64 per cent of the 1.27 crore electorate in Haryana cast their votes on Thursday to select representatives to the 90-member assembly. 

The election was by and large peaceful, though one person was killed in poll-related violence and a few incidents of clashes were reported.

• Triangular contest in hi-tech city Gurgaon

Kulbir, driver of Congress's Barwala candidate Randhir, was shot dead by some unidentified gunmen in Mirchpur village in Barwala. However, Randhir escaped the attack.

"The polling was very peaceful in the state and the voter turnout was very large," Haryana's Chief Electoral Officer Urvashi Gulati told reporters in Chandigarh.

She, however, said the figure of 68.64 per cent was tentative. It could be 70 per cent, she said.

The highest tentative voter turnout figure of 82.31 per cent was recorded at Adampur, where Haryana Congress chief Bhajan Lal was a candidate.

Narwana, from where Indian National Lok Dal leader and Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala contested, recorded 82.15 per cent voter turnout. Chautala was pitted against Haryana Congress working chief Randeep Singh Surjewala.

The lowset turn out of 53.50 per cent was recorded in Gurgaon.

• Jharkhand: 7 killed; 45-50 per cent turnout

Polling in two booths – one in Chhachhrouli in Yamuna Nagar and another in Bambola in Jagadhari - was held up for about 30 minutes due to technical fault in the electronic voting machines, a report from Yamuna Nagar said.

Voting was also suspended at polling booths with number 50 and 51 in Sant Nagar area of Mewla Maharajpur constituency after the names of 579 voters were found deleted. Some voters whose names were missing from the voters' list protested outside the polling booths resulting in the suspension of polling. The police later restored order and the polling recommenced.

• 55 per cent polling in three states; 19 killed

Meanwhile, Sirsa police registered a case under various sections of the Indian Penal Code against three Congress activists, including the son-in-law of party nominee and former minister Lachhman Dass Arora, in connection with an attack on Indian National Lok Dal workers. Three people were injured in the attack and they had to be hospitalised.

The Ambala police registered a case against three Bharatiya Janata Party activists for an alleged murderous attack on an independent candidate, Anil Vij, on Wednesday night.