DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA POSTAL REGN. NO. JAIPUR CITY/001/2024-26 JOURNALISM OF COURAGE SATURDAY, APRIL 27, 2024, JAIPUR, LATE CITY, 16 PAGES NOCOMPLAINTSOFVIOLENCE, say poll panel officials ● `6.00 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 PHASE2HASBEENTOOGOOD, says PM, confident of NDA win HIGHESTTURNOUTOF79.59% for lone Tripura seat Phase 2: Another dip, 64% Voting in Rajasthan concludes with 64% in phase 2; overall turnout at 61.60% PARUL KULSHRESTHA JAIPUR, APRIL 26 Voters on their way to a polling station in Darrang, Assam, during the second phase of Lok Sabha elections on Friday. ANI Turnout sluggish in Maharashtra, Bihar, UP; voting ends in Kerala & Rajasthan VOTER TURNOUT IN PHASE 2 Overall turnout 2019 (88 seats) 2024 69.64% 60.7% NO INDICATION OF ARTIFICE, DECEIT: BENCH SC says no return to ballot papers, backs ‘secure, user-friendly’ EVMs Rejects plea for 100% verification of votes polled in EVMs with VVPAT slips States where polling is complete after Phase 2 2024 77.84% 67.15% Rajasthan (13seats) 68.42% 64.07% Tripura (1seat) 82.90% 79.59% Manipur (1seat) 84.14% 77.95% Note: Overall turnout figure until 7 pm, state figures until 11.30 pm Source: Election Commission of India THIRD PHASE: MAY 7 EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, APRIL 26 THE SECOND phase of the Lok Sabha elections concluded Friday, with the voter turnout data for 88 constituencies until 10 pm showing a dip — just like in the first phase — as compared to the 2019 elections. According to the Election Commission, provisional turnout was recorded at 64.2%, which was expected to rise, albeit marginally, as electors were stilllininguptocasttheirvotesin parts of Rajasthan, West Bengal, Kerala, Karnataka and Maharashtra close to 6 pm. Those who queue up until the last minute before the official polling hours are over are allowed to cast their votes even beyond the polling hours. In 2019, the turnout in 85 of PAGE 1 ANCHOR the88seatsthatwenttopollson Friday was 69.64%. Voting comparison for five seats of Assam has rendered difficult since seat boundaries have changed after delimitation last year. During the first phase of voting for 102 seats on April 19, the provisional turnout stood at roughly 63% by the end of day and the final figure, the day after, was 66%. Speaking to The Indian Express, senior officers of the EC pointed that sluggish voting in mainly three states — Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar — was what pulled the overall polling numbers down. Till Friday night, Maharashtra registered a turnout of 59.6%, Bihar 57% and Uttar Pradesh 54.8%, as opposed to 63%, 63% and 62%, respectively, in 2019. A total of 16 crore electors CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 ANANTHAKRISHNAN G NEW DELHI, APRIL 26 REAFFIRMING ITS faith in the working of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), the Supreme Court Friday rejected prayers for 100 per cent verification of the votes polled in them with slips printed by the Voter Verifiable At a polling booth in Mathura on Friday. Gajendra Yadav Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) machinesor,inthealternate,areturn to the system of ballot papers. In separate but concurring judgements, the two-judge bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna andDipankarDatta,which“conductedanin-detailreviewof the CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Nothing changes for voter, How ‘400 paar’ got new runners-up get option to twist: Reward for work to seek EVM chip verification ‘shield’ for OBC, SC, ST DAMINI NATH NEW DELHI, APRIL 26 WHILE THE voting process for electors remains the same, the Supreme Court’'s judgement FridayintheEVM-VVPAT casehas,forthefirsttime, given runners-up in an election the opportunity to have the voting machines checked for tampering. Although the court rejected the plea that sought a return to ballot papers or 100% tallying of VVPATslipswiththeEVMcount, it issued two directions to the Election Commission (EC) that would change the way the poll panel conducts elections. First, the court mandated that the Symbol Loading Units (SLUs), which are used to load symbols onto the VVPAT machines, be sealed, secured and ● stored for 45 days after the poll results. “The sealed containers, containingthesymbolloadingunits, shall be kept in the strong room E EXPLAINED 2019 Kerala (all20seats) administrative and technical safeguards of the EVM mechanism” said, “To us, it is apparent that a number of safeguardsand protocols with stringent checks have been put in place.” It said “data and figures” placed before it “do not indicate artifice and deceit”. Thebenchgavecandidatesat No. 2 and No. 3 positions the optiontogettheburntmemory/microcontroller of 5 per cent of EVMs per Assembly segment “checked and verified by a team ofengineersfromEVMmanufacturersposttheannouncementof results” on a written request for a cost to be notified by the Election Commission of India CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 VIKAS PATHAK & HARIKISHAN SHARMA NEW DELHI, APRIL 26 BUSINESS AS USUAL BY UNNY ONApril24inMadhyaPradesh’s Sagar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said: “They ask me why 400 paar? I reply – because of your stratagems in the states. Dalitonke,Advisaiyonke,OBCske aarakshan chori karne ka jo khel khel rahe ho. Use lootne ka khel khel rahe ho. Aapke ye khel band karnekeliye,hameshakeliyeband karnekeliye,aapkemansoobonko CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 VOTINGFORLokSabhaelections in Rajasthan concluded Friday withthestaterecordinganoverall voter turnout of 61.60% for 25 seatsintwophases,accordingto the Election Commission. This is lower than the 66.07% recorded in 2019. In the second phase of polling for 13 constituencies,the turnout was 64.07%, according to the EC. In 2019, these constituencies where voting was held on Friday recorded a turnout of 68% in 2019. The last phase of polling, however, improved the overall voting turnout as the first phase on April 19 had recorded 57.87% voting for 12 seats. This year, the highest voting percentage of 73.68% has been recorded in the Barmer Lok Sabha constituency. Also, in the by-election held in Bagidora Assembly constituency, about 77% voting was recorded. At a polling station in Tonk on Friday. Rohit Jain Paras The lowest turnout was recorded in Tonk – Sawai Madhopur seat with 56%, marginallylessthanthe56.8%inPali. Voting started at 7 am on Friday in the 13 Lok Sabha constituencies – Barmer, Jodhpur, Jalore, Chittorgarh, Banswara, Kota, Tonk-Sawai Madhopur, Ajmer, Pali, Udaipur,Rajsamand, Kota and Jhalawar-Baran – and continued till 6 pm. People standing in queue inside the booth were allowed to vote beyond the deadline. Polling was largely peaceful CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 DECISION 2024 ● EC seeks views on deferring polls in Anantnag, Omar & Mehbooba see plot ●Eagernottoblunt370 narrative,waryBJPkeeps outof Kashmir ● This election is like IPL... and the Congress has no captain: Bandi Sanjay ● SP names, changes candidates in 10 seats PAGES 4,5 Court orders J&K to pay Rs 5 lakh to man ‘illegally detained’ under PSA BASHAARAT MASOOD SRINAGAR, APRIL 26 QUASHINGTHEdetentionof the former spokesperson of the banned Jamaat-e-Islami under the Public Safety Act (PSA), the Jammu and Kashmir High Court has directed the state to compensate him for the “illegal detention”. Thisisthefirsttimethecourt haspenalisedthestatefordetentionunderthePSA,whichallows theauthoritiestodetainaperson without trial for up to two years. “This court cannot resist but to hold that the preventive detention of the petitioner is mala fide and illegal, aborigineand ab intra. The petitioner has been made to suffer loss of his liberty for a cumulative period of more than 1,080 days of preventive custody, covered under the span of four detention orders in a row from 2019 to March 2024,” Justice Rahul Bharti said in his judgement. The judgement, pronounced on April 3, was uploaded on Friday. "(The) latest preventive detention of the petitioner is compounding the illegality, attendingthebreachandviolation of the petitioner’s fundamental righttopersonallibertywithimpunity, and that entitles him to compensation. Therefore, this court, drawing support from the judgement of the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India... reckons this to be a fit case for this court to exercise its constitutionaljurisdictiontoextendconstitutional remedy for grant of compensation in favour of the petitioner for illegal infringementof hisfundamentalrightto personal liberty,” it stated. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Why gangrape that shook Hathras is no longer a poll issue for parties LALMANI VERMA HATHRAS, APRIL 26 MORE THAN three years after a 19-year-oldDalitwomanwasallegedly gangraped by four upper-caste men in Hathras, and died 11 days later in Delhi’s Safdarjung Hospital in September 2020, the voters in her village are divided along caste lines. While the four families related to the victim are silent on their candidate preference, the others in her village — mostly upper caste — have de- clared their intention to vote for lier known for its production of the BJP in the third phase of heeng (asafoetida), Holi colours polling on May 7 for the SC-re- andgulal,shottoinfamyafterthe served Hathras Lok Sabha seat. incident. In March last year, a But with the elecspecial court in Uttar tions underway, no canPradesh’sHathrasdistrict didate is openly speakhad convicted the main ing about the incident. accused—SandeepSingh While the BJP has —andacquittedthethree fielded state Revenue others.TheUttarPradesh DECISION Minister Anoop Pradhan 2024 governmenthadordered Valmiki, the other canaCBIprobeaftertheincididates include the dentcausednationwideoutrage. Samajwadi Party’s (SP’s) Jasveer In Hathras, locals refer to the Valmiki and the Bahujan Samaj incidentas“bitiyakand”andpeo- Party’s (BSP’s) Hembaboo ple say the district that was ear- Dhangar. The 19-year-old Dalit woman died at Delhi’s Safdarjung Hospital, 11 days after she was gangraped in 2020. File TheDalitsandThakursnumber an even 3 lakh each in the HathrasLokSabhaseat,followed by 2 lakh Brahmins, 2 lakh Vaishyas and 80,000 Muslims. The upper caste votes, apart from the support for it by nonJatav Dalits, mean the seat has long been a BJP bastion. The party has won Hathras consecutively since 1991 — in 2009, the RLD won here as a BJP ally. The BSP finished runner-up in each poll between 1996 and 2014. In 2019, when the SP and BSP were allies, the SP’s candidate here was placed second. Jaipur Living under the security of CRPF personnel and CCTV cameras still, the victim’s family avoids venturing out into their village. The first house in the village belongs to the family of the accused, who are Thakurs. Separated by a single-lane road, the next house belongs to the victim’s family. Though the victim’s family does not disclose the party they support, there are two blue flags with slogan “Jai Bheem” at their home’s main entrance, put up on April 14, the birth anniversary of Dalit iconBRAmbedkar.Thevic- tim’s caste group generally backs the BJP. “So many leaders had come to meet at that time for their own political interest. But now no one enquires about my family. We got a compensation of Rs 25 lakh from the Uttar Pradesh governmentthatweusefordaily expenses and to pay the fees of lawyers. Other assurances of a house and a government job have not been met yet,” says the victim’s brother, adding that the nexthearingof theirappealchallenging the acquittals will be CONTINUED ON PAGE 2
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