Good turnout in Hisar by-election
October 13th, 2011 - 6:18 pm ICT by IANS
Hisar (Haryana), Oct 13 (IANS) Polling proceeded peacefully and briskly in the crucial Hisar Lok Sabha by-election with more than half of the 1.3 million electorate voting till 3 p.m., officials said Thursday.
Till 3 p.m., 55.55 percent of the electorate had exercised their franchise in an election that became more significant with Team Anna stepping into the political fray and asking people not to vote for the Congress.
Sources in the Election Commission said a huge turnout was expected by 5 p.m. when polling ends. Counting of votes will take place Oct 17.
The three main contenders for the seat are Kuldeep Bishnoi of the Haryana Janhit Congress (HJC), the son of late chief minister Bhajan Lal; Indian National Lok Dal’s (INLD) Ajay Chautala, the son of former chief minister Om Prakash Chautala; and three-time former MP Jai Prakash of the Congress.
Bishnoi has the support of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for the election.
The election hit the national spotlight after Anna Hazare and members of his team asked people to vote against the Congress as part of the fight against corruption and misgovernance.
There is heavy security to ensure the smooth conduct of voting; for the first time video-filming of all 1,506 polling centres will be done.
A total of 340 polling booths have been declared hyper-sensitive while 387 polling booths have been declared sensitive by the election commission.
Besides local police, around 40 companies of paramilitary forces have been deployed to prevent any untoward incident. There are 1,332,000 voters - 729,857 men and 602,323 women - who will decide the fate of the aspirants for this seat, which fell vacant in June this year following the death of Bhajan Lal, a three-time chief minister.
- Polling ends in Hisar by-poll, over 70 percent turnout expected (Third Lead) - Oct 13, 2011
- Campaigning for Hisar by-poll ends - Oct 11, 2011
- Bishnoi races towards victory in Hisar, Congress third - Oct 17, 2011
- Namesakes seek to confuse pitch in Haryana by-poll - Oct 05, 2011
- We're treating Hisar as a referendum: Kejriwal - Oct 09, 2011
- Hisar turnout over 70 percent, all by-polls peaceful (Roundup) - Oct 13, 2011
- Identify the corrupt, Congress tells Team Anna - Oct 10, 2011
- With four-zero score, electoral nought for Congress (Roundup) - Oct 17, 2011
- No problem with Congress if Jan Lokpal bill passed: Kejriwal - Oct 10, 2011
- By-poll results Monday; all eyes on Hisar amid Hazare's 'maun vrat' - Oct 16, 2011
- All eyes on Hisar - to fill Bhajan Lal's shoes - Sep 11, 2011
- In Anna wave, Congress, Hooda have back to wall - Oct 11, 2011
- In Hisar, roadroller almost crushed Bishnoi's tractor - Nov 06, 2011
- Hisar's main contestants record massive hike in properties - Oct 12, 2011
- Bishnoi resigns from Haryana assembly - Oct 24, 2011
Tags: ajay, bhajan lal, bharatiya janata party, bishnoi, chief minister, election commission, fight against corruption, first time video, haryana, heavy security, hisar, inld, Lok Sabha, national spotlight, paramilitary forces, political fray, polling booths, prakash, smooth conduct, untoward incident