#Elections2014

The 2014 Lok Sabha election, which finally drew to a close on Monday, has earned the distinction of recording the highest voter turnout ever at 66.4%. This surpasses the 64% polling witnessed in the 1984 polls, held in extraordinary circumstances following the assassination of then prime minister Indira Gandhi, and makes the 58.2% turnout of 2009 pale in comparison.
This general election cost the government Rs.3,426 crore, which is 131% more than the Rs.1,483 crore spent on the 2009 polls. Apart from inflation, which has soared over the last five years, the Election Commission on Monday attributed the surge in poll costs to its rising spend on new measures including the voter awareness initiative titled Systematic Voter Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP).
Interestingly, the first Lok Sabha polls in 1952 had cost just Rs.10.45 crore.
Having added a record 11.4 crore voters in the last five years, the EC on Monday proudly announced that even the voter turnout in absolute terms soared to 55.1 crore from 41.7 crore in the last parliamentary polls. This marks an increase of 32% in total votes cast compared to 2009.
The extraordinary voter enthusiasm in these polls was evident from the fact that 15 of the 35 states and Union territories recorded their highest ever turnouts, while 32 witnessed higher turnouts than the last poll in 2009. The top performers in terms of turnouts were smaller states and UTs such as Nagaland (88.6%), Lakshadweep (86.8%), Tripura (84.3%), Dadra and Nagar Haveli (84.1%) and Puducherry (82.2%). Among the bigger states, West Bengal impressed with 81.8% turnout (likely to go up once final figures come in), Odisha (74.4%), Andhra Pradesh (74.2%), Kerala (74.0%) and Tamil Nadu (73.7%).
However, the politically crucial states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar were among the lowest-ranking states in terms of turnout, faring better than only Jammu & Kashmir. While UP recorded 58.6% overall turnout, Bihar saw 56.5% of its electorate turning up at polling stations. Militancy-hit Jammu & Kashmir recorded 50.1% polling, which though lower than the national average is a major improvement on the 39.7% turnout of 2009.

Bengal had no respite from violence, booth jamming and rigging in the last phase of polling on Monday. Blood spilled in Haroa, North 24-Parganas, where Trinamool goons fired on CPM supporters, injuring at least 20, while in Sodepur, a pregnant woman was assaulted.
The violence — barely three years after Trinamool’s landslide win in 2011 —reflected the desperation of the ruling party to protect its south Bengal fort from erosion amid a saffron surge.
Kolkata reeled under violence. Bombs were thrown at BJP leader Meena Devi Purohit’s house in Posta. CPM Kolkata South candidate Nandini Mukherjee was heckled by Trinamool supporters. BJP candidate from Barasat, magician P C Sorcar Jr), was mobbed at a Salt Lake booth. Congress’ Dhananjoy Mitra was assaulted in New Barrackpore. Clashes broke out in Tiljala (Kolkata South), stalling polling for an hour. Trinamool supporters attacked CPM men in Bangur at noon. But the EC said there was no disruption in polls, except for stray incidents. The presiding officers of Haroa and Jibantala in Joynagar constituency were removed.