At least two persons were killed and 100 injured in sporadic clashes between rival political groups as millions of Bangladeshis voted amidst unprecedented security to elect a new Parliament on Monday. Balloting, which began at 8 am (local time), closed at 4 pm in nearly 30,000 polling booths across the country to choose 299 representatives for the 300-member Parliament. Polling in one constituency countermanded. A privately TV channel said that one person was shot dead near a polling centre in a clash between supporters of Awami League and Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), the two major contenders of power, in the southern district of Barisal. In another incident, one man was hacked to death during a clash between rival supporters in Mehendiganj district, the channel said. Election Commision sources said that two candidates, one belonging to former prime minister Khaleda Zia led BNP and another to Jatiya Samajtantri Dal (JSD), were arrested for violation of electoral laws. The JSD nominee is A S M Rab, who was a minister in the government of Sheikh Hasina, the chief of Awami League and Bangladesh's immediate past prime minister.
Reports reaching Dhaka from different parts of the country said that large number of people turned up for exercising franchise ignoring inclement weather. But there was no official figures immediately available on the percentage of turn out from among 75 million voters. The 1996 general elections had recorded a turn out of 74.9 per cent. Bureau Report