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Brisk polling in Punjab, Uttarakhand

CHANDIGARH/DEHRADUN: Brisk polling was today witnessed in the elections to the Assemblies of Punjab and Uttarakhand that were by and large peaceful.

While Punjab registered voting at around 65 per cent, polling in Uttarakhand was put at nearly 70 per cent, officials quoting initial reports from various constituencies in the two states said.

The key elections in Punjab and Uttarakhand will decide the fate of 1866 candidates including chief ministerial aspirants Prakash Badal, Amarinder Singh and B. C. Khanduri.

Polling began on a dull note due to the morning chill in both the states but picked as the day progressed. Long queues of voters, including large number of women, were seen at polling stations.

Barring minor skirmishes in Ludhiana, Bathinda and Amritsar in Punjab, polling in the two states was by and large peaceful, officials said. In Ludhiana, BJP Yuva Morcha general secretary Sanjay Kapoor received minor injuries in a clash.

While there are 1078 contestant vying for 117 seats in Punjab, the number of candidates for 70 seats in Uttarakhand is 866. Counting to votes will take place on March 6.

Talking to reporters before leaving for Patiala, state Congress president Amarinder Singh claimed that Haryana's Sirsa headquartered-sect Dera Sacha Sauda was supporting his party.

"The Dera is supporting the Congress. The message (from the Dera) has reached the premis (followers) and they are supporting the Congress. This was expected the way Akalis had treated Dera followers," he said.

Claiming that there was a "clear wave" in his party's favour, Singh claimed, "We are winning hands down and as I have said we will cross 70 seats...People of Punjab want to oust the Akalis." Over 250 contestants including Singh, his wife and Union Minister Preneet Kaur, had visited the Dera premises at Sirsa and sought blessings from the sect chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh.

After casting his vote in his home constituency Lambi's Badal village, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal said SAD-BJP would comfortably win on the basis of development during the past five years. In Punjab, with a 1.7 crore electorate, polling took place at 19,841 polling stations across 22 districts.

In Uttarakhand, nearly 70 per cent of 63-lakh-strong electorate exercised their franchise, state Chief Election Officer Radha Raturi said. — PTI

11 EVMs replaced in Mansa after complaint

Mansa: Election authorities in Punjab on Monday replaced 11 electronic voting machines (EVMs) in Mansa district after complaints that an unidentified person had tried to tamper with them.   Workers of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the People's Party of Punjab (PPP) had complained to the Election Commission (EC), alleging that an unidentified person had tried to break the seals of the EVMs in the sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) office here late Sunday.

The Mansa deputy commissioner immediately ordered that the 11 EVMs be replaced with new ones. The voting process that began at 8 am on Monday, was, however, not affected by the incident.

The person who is said to have tried to tamper with the EVMs was able to escape. Despite a tight security cordon around the offices where EVMs were kept for voting, security agencies were caught off-guard on how this person reached inside the SDM office.They complainants alleged the person was trying to press the button of the ruling Akali Dal on the EVMs.

"We complained to the EC and the EVMs have been replaced. We are satisfied with the action," PPP president Manpreet Singh Badal said.

UP Lokayukya recommends CBI probe against Kushwaha

Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh Lokayukta Justice N K Mehrotra today recommended a CBI probe against former state Family Welfare and Mining Minister and expelled BSP leader Babu Sigh Kushwaha.

"There were three complaints against Kushwaha after inquiry into which a probe by either CBI or Director Vigilance after registering an FIR under the Prevention of Corruption and Money Laundering Acts has been recommended," Lokayukya Justice Mehrotra told PTI.

He said that the report had been send to Chief Minister Mayawati for action.

Justice Mehrotra said that there were three complaints against Kushwaha, including allotting mining lease to his own men, inviting dummy applications through advertisements in unknown newspapers like Agnipath, Karmyug, Radical Times confined to Banda and Mahoba.

He said that the former minister was also accused of issuing mining lease without taking permission of the Union Environment Ministry and allowing use of machines, which was prohibited.

The second complaint pertained to parking money in five societies and partnership firms registered in Lucknow, Kanpur and Jhansi with jurisdiction in these three districts, besides Banda.

One of the partnership firms named Darpan Mercantile was based in Mumbai, Justice Mehrotra said.

He said Kushwaha and his wife were also accused of acquiring wealth in two different names.

"The former minister did not file any reply in two matters and in the third matter it was unsigned, he however did not deny any of the charges," he said. — PTI