The Indian Express                 03.06.2013

PMC polls peaceful, record 62.86 pc turnout

Barring some stray incidents in which political parties were trying to get bogus votes cast, elections to 20 wards of the Panchkula Municipal Corporation (PMC) went off peacefully on Sunday. By 5 pm when polling closed, 62.86 per cent of the total number of 2,30,557 voters had exercised their franchise.

State Election Commissioner Dharam Vir said the polling was peaceful. "No untoward incident was reported. Barring minor incidents in which people attempted to get bogus votes cast, the elections were peaceful. Re-poll was not required to be ordered in any of the wards."

It was for the first time that polling was held to elect members of the PMC. Before this, it was Municipal Council. The Municipal Corporation, Panchkula, was constituted on March 17, 2010. The area under the previous Municipal Council, Panchkula, and Kalka and Pinjore Municipal Committees along with 54 villages of Panchkula district falls under the Municipal Corporation. Counting of votes will be held on June 4.

Since 8 am when voting started, people had been queuing up outside polling booths. Voting was higher in rural areas of the district than in the city, with some of the booths registering 90 to 95 per cent turnout.

In Panchkula district, the highest percentage of votes was registered at a polling booth at Dabkori. At Government Primary School, Dabkori, out of a total of 561 votes, 536 votes were polled, registering 95.54 per cent turnout. In Kalka and Pinjore, the turnout in some wards was high. In ward no. 1 in Kalka, the voting percentage in some of the wards was as high as 70-80 per cent.

In some of the areas of the city, the percentage of votes polled was less and ranged between 35-40 per cent. In ward no. 9, at the estate office in Sector 6, Panchkula, the polling percentage recorded was 32.16 per cent. Out of the total votes of 1,191, only 383 votes were cast. However, at some of the polling booths, the voting percentage was as high as 70-80 per cent. At Saint Michal School, Sector 16, in ward no. 11, the turnout was 74.44 per cent. Out of the total of 1,072 votes, 798 votes were cast. Also, at Government Primary School, Budhanpur, west part, in ward no. 11, of the total voting strength of 979 votes, 735 votes were cast, registering 75.03 per cent turnout.

The polling was brisk in ward no. 20 with most of the polling stations registering 80-90 per cent turnout. At Government Primary School, Toka, out of the total of 301 votes, 285 votes were cast, registering 94.68 per cent voting. At Government School, Alipur, out of the total of 577 votes, 552 votes were polled registering 90.47 per cent polling.

There were reports of money being distributed by a candidate of a political party at Ashiana Housing Society in Sector 20 in the city. Although a number of police personnel were deployed outside the housing society, there were reports that the incident sparked off clashes between the two political groups due to which a vehicle was damaged.

However, Station House Officer, Sector 20 police station, Pradeep Rana said a candidate of a political party had objected to voters being ferried in an auto from the housing society to the nearby polling booth. "Following this, we swung into action and stopped the voters being ferried after which the situation was brought under control."

Police detained nine people from ward no. 14 who were trying to get bogus votes cast. "The people who were taken into custody were not from the particular ward and were trying to get bogus votes cast," said Deputy Commissioner of Police, Panchkula, Ashwin Shenvi.

Elsewhere in Sector 9 at ward no. 10, a voter had gone to cast his vote in favour of a particular political party after the time had ended which was objected to by the opposite party, sparking off a clash between them. The camera of a photographer was damaged in the clash.