2017 Punjab Assembly Elections - 75% Voter Turnout in Punjab Saturday Feb 04,2017

As voters in Punjab came out to make their choice clear on Saturday Feb 04,2017, reports of electronic voting machines (EVMs) malfunctioning started pouring in from different parts of the state.

In many constituencies like Majitha and Malout, voters complained of malfunctioning EVMs leading to a delay in the voting process.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which had started a social media campaign called “AAP spy army” aimed at monitoring the election process, said that it had set up a helpline for both Punjab and Goa and in Punjab alone, they had received over 400 complaints of the EVMs malfunctioning

In Punjab, 75% of nearly 20 million voters cast their vote by 5pm with heavy polling in the Malwa region that elects 69 of Punjab’s 117 legislators. The poll percentage might rise further.

The state is witnessing an unprecedented three-cornered contest between the Akali Dal-BJP combine, the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). The polling percentage in the 2012 assembly elections was 78.5%.

 Of the three regions in Punjab, Malwa recorded the highest voter turnout at 82.7% while the border region of Majha had the lowest at 66%. The Doaba region had a turnout of 68.2%. Of Punjab’s 22 districts, the highest voter turnout was in Fazilka district, which houses the seat of Jalalabad where Deputy CM Sukhbir Singh Badal is locked in an intense battle with AAP leader Bhagwant Mann and Congress’s Ravneet Singh Bittu

The Akali Dal-BJP alliance has ruled Punjab for two straight terms, ten years, and both the Congress and AAP hope to benefit from an anti-incumbency sentiment.

Counting of votes will be taken up on March 11,2017