Three villages boycott ZP, PS polls in Aurangabad

Aurangabad, Mar 11 (UNI) Three villages boycotted Zilla Parishad (ZP) and Panchayat Samiti (PS) polls in the district, protesting against lack of infrastructure facilities and other long-pending demands.

Otherwise, about 50 per cent turnout was recorded till 1600 hrs.

Voters from Ambala and Dudhmala villages in Kannad tehsil and Panvi-Khandala village in Vaijapur tehsil boycotted the elections to protest lack of infrastructure facilities such as roads and bridges, and other long-pending demands, sources at the District Election Office said.

''Voters in the three villages did not turn out for voting till 1600 hrs and continued their boycott,'' District Election Officer and Collector Vikas Kharge said.

Voting began at 0730 hrs. No untoward incident has been reported in all the nine tehsils of the district so far, Additional Superintendent of Police Navinchandra Reddy told UNI.

Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) were used first time in the ZP-PS elections.

The Aurangabad ZP was ruled by the Sena-BJP alliance in the previous term.

The Sena-BJP are contesting the elections together, while the Congress-NCP combine, the two major partners in the Democratic Front (DF) government, are fighting the polls separately.

The saffron alliance, eying for the second term in the district, has made every effort to retain their stronghold in the district.

Meanwhile, according to a report from Beed, about 65 per cent turnout was recorded for the ZP and PS polls in the district till 1600 hrs. The polling was by and large peaceful in Beed, the home district of senior BJP leader Gopinath Munde and Maharashtra Health Minister Vimal Mundada.

UNI