Chandigarh, May 29 (PTI) The voter turnout in Haryana was slightly lower this time than previous elections due to heatwave, state's Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Anurag Agarwal said on Wednesday.

The state registered nearly 65 per cent voter turnout for 10 Lok Sabha seats, which went to the polls in the sixth phase of general elections on May 25.

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Due to severe heatwave, the voter turnout was slightly lower than the previous election, Agarwal said, according to an official statement issued here.

An overall voter turnout of 64.80 per cent was recorded, he said.

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Agarwal also commended the voters for their cooperation with the Election Commission staff in conducting a free and transparent election.

In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the overall voting percentage was 70.

For the last many days, the maximum temperatures in the state have remained in the range of 45-48 degrees Celsius at many places.

Agarwal said as counting of votes will take place on June 4, comprehensive arrangements have been made to ensure smooth counting in the state, including a two-layer security system in the EVM strong rooms.

He said the Sirsa parliamentary constituency had recorded the highest voter turnout of 69.77 per cent, while Faridabad recorded the lowest at 60.52 per cent.

For the 10 Lok Sabha seats in the state, 223 candidates, including former chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar, two Union ministers -- Rao Inderjit Singh and Krishan Pal Gurjar -- and Congress leaders Kumari Selja and Deepender Singh Hooda, were in fray.

In 2019, the BJP had swept Haryana, winning all 10 Lok Sabha seats.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)