ਕਲਮਿਸਤਾਨ ਖ਼ਬਰਨਾਮਾ

  76.63 percent of Punjab's 1.76 crore voters had cast their ballots

Chandigarh, January: (BB): The eagerly awaited Punjab Poll concluded peacefully in which 76.63 percent of Punjab\'s 1.76 crore voters had cast their ballots by 5 p.m. as per initial reports. It was exceeded last assembly poll percentage marginally that was 75.47 percent. The maximum turn out percentage 90% is reported from Guru Har Sahai, Distt. Ferozepur while minimum poll percentage 56% recorded in Amritsar West SC Assembly constituency. (details on PDF file attached) The final figure of voters turn out is expected to cross 80 percent. According to Ms. Kusumjit Sidhu, poll percentage in Pathankot district was 71.93%, Gurdaspur 75.33%, Amritsar 72.33, Tarn Taran 69.03, Kapurthala 79.22, Jalandhar 74%, Hoshiarpur 74.56%, Nawan Shahar 78%, Ropar 75.95, SAS Nagar 76.01, Fatehgarh Sahib 81.10, Ludhiana 76.23%, Moga 79.33%, Ferozepur 82%, Fazilka 78.67%, Mukatsar 84.73%, Faridkot 79%, Bathinda 78.33%, Mansa 81%, Sangrur 79.48%, Barnala 82.28% and Patiala recorded 78.33% polling as per reports reaching headquarters by 8:30pm. The EC received some complaints from various districts and required action was taken, officials said here. Despite the winter chill, some polling booths, especially in rural areas, saw people lining up to exercise the franchise even before the booths had officially opened. No voter was being allowed to enter polling stations without an election identity card and voter slip, officials said. The fate of 1,078 candidates, including 417 independents and 93 women, will be decided by the 17,683,559 voters in the state, of which 8,361,014 are women. The main contest is between the ruling Shiromani Akali Dal-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) alliance and the opposition Congress. A third front, Sanjha Morcha, has been formed recently and is led by former finance minister Manpreet Badal\'s newly floated People\'s Party of Punjab (PPP). Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, accompanied by his son and Akali Dal president Sukhbir Badal, who is also the deputy chief minister, Sukhbir\'s wife and Bathinda MP Harsimrat Badal and PPP president Manpreet Badal and other members of the Badal clan cast their vote Monday morning at the government primary school in Badal village, 230 km from here. \"We will win at least 80 seats. I can clearly see a wave for the Akali Dal-BJP government,\" Sukhbir Badal said after casting his vote. Amarinder Singh, who voted in Patiala, said the Congress would win more than 75 seats. Counting of votes will be held on March 6, 2012.