NEWDELHI: Polling in the two States of Punjab and Uttarakhand on Monday passed off peacefully, without any major incidence of violence, and both States witnessing high voter turnout.
Punjab saw a 70 per cent voter turnout till 5 pm, and was expected to go up to 77 per cent, said Deputy Election Commissioner Alok Shukla; Uttarakhand, on the other hand, witnessed a 65 per cent voter turnout till 5 pm, and was expected cross the 70 per cent mark, said Deputy Election Commissioner Sudhir Tripathi.
Long voter queues were seen at most places in both States around 5 pm, a reason why EC officials hoped that the final voter turnout, to be collated on Tuesday, would be considerably higher.
Expected turnout will be higher than the last Assembly elections, when Punjab recorded 75.36 per cent turnout in 2007 (70.04 per cent in 2009 Lok Sabha polls), and Uttarakhand saw a 63.96 voter turnout in 2007 (53.96 per cent turnout in the 2009 LS elections).