Lok Sabha polls: High turnout in 7th phase, record 73% voting in Punjab

New Delhi: Punjab and union territories of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu on Wednesay recorded the highest-ever voter turnout in their history even as 17 constituencies of Telangana region of as-yet-undivided Andhra Pradesh also saw 70 per cent voting in Lok Sabha elections.

Amid militant threats, Jammu and Kashmir`s Srinagar seat recorded a poor turnout of 25.62 per cent, which was higher as compared to 25.49 per cent recorded in 2009 general elections. While Gujarat`s highest ever voter turnout is 63.77 per cent recorded in 1967, the state, which went for single phase Lok Sabha elections today, recorded a turnout of 62 per cent. Last time, the turnout was recorded at 47.89 per cent. Gujarat sends 26 MPs to Lok Sabha. Vadodara, from where Gujarat Chief Minister and BJP`s PM pick Narendra Modi is seeking Lok Sabha debut, recorded a turnout of 70 per cent. Gandhinagar, from where BJP veteran L K Advani is seeking a re-election, registered a turnout of 62 per cent. In Ahmedabad, the turnout was 62.30 per cent, while in Surat, 61.50 of the electorate turned out to cast their vote. Like Gujarat, Punjab, with 13 seats, went for a single phase poll today, recording its highest ever turnout of 73 per cent. Last elections` turnout was 70.04 per cent. Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu (with one seat each) also recorded their highest-ever voter turnout of 85 per cent and 76 per cent respectively. The turnout in Daman and Diu is likely to each 80 per cent, Deputy Election Commissioner Alok Shukla said. In the 2009 Lok Sabha polls, the turnout was 73.26 per cent and 72.69 per cent respectively. The 17 seats of Telangana region of yet undivided Andhra Pradesh, which voted to elect their first representatives to Lok Sabha, recorded a turnout of 70 per cent. In 2009, the turnout in the area was 67.71 per cent. June 2 is the `appointed date` for Telangana to come into being as the 29th state of India. In Uttar Pradesh, where 14 seats went for polling in the seventh phase of Lok Sabha elections, the turnout was 57.10 per cent, nearly nine per cent higher than last time`s 47.99 per cent. In Rae Bareli, where Congress chief Sonia Gandhi is seeking a re-election, the turnout was 51.85 per cent. In Kanpur, where BJP`s Murli Manohar Joshi wants to wrest the seat from sitting MP and Congress leader Sriprakash Jaiswal, the turnout was 61 per cent in Kanpur (rural) and 52.76 per cent in Kanpur (city). In Lucknow, where BJP President Rajnath Singh is pitted against Rita Bahuguna Joshi of Congress and Javed Jaffrey of AAP, 55.22 per cent of the voters came out to cast their vote. In Bihar`s seven seats, the turnout was recorded at 60 per cent, 15 per cent higher than last time`s 45.02 per cent. In West Bengal`s nine seats, the turnout was 81.35 per cent and it is expected to go up to 83 per cent. Last time, the polling percentage was 81.91.