Guwahati, Apr 8: Over 63 per cent of the 64,41,634 voters exercised their franchise till 3:30 p.m. today in five Lok Sabha constituencies of Assam where four persons clashed with CRPF personnel demanding that they be allowed to cast their vote first in Kaliabor constituency.
With a large turnout of voters, long queues were seen in front of the 8,588 polling stations one hour before voting began at 7 am, particularly in the rural areas where poll campaigning was intense.
A considerable number of the 6.5 lakh first time voters in the age group of 18 to 19 years registered in the state this time, were seen enthusiastically lining up to participate in the poll process.
Most of the early morning voters were women who said they wanted to cast their ballot before they began their housework for the day.
41 per cent votes cast in Tripura till mid-day
Forty-one percent of the 12,46,794 voters exercised their franchise till noon in Tripura West Lok Sabha Constituency today, amid complaints of malfunctioning of EVMs at some places.
Of the two constituencies - Tripura West and Tripura East (ST), election is being held in Tripura West constituency today.
CPI-M state secretary Bijan Dhar said people were enthusiastic about casting their votes.
BJP state unit president Sudhindra Chandra Dasgupta and the party's contestant from the seat said some EVM machines were not working in some polling stations of the capital.
When contacted, election officials said a few EVMs were not working in the beginning in some polling stations but those were either immediately replaced or repaired by the election department.
Polling for the Tripura East (ST) seat will be held on April 12.
25 per cent votes cast ballot till 10 am in Assam
Over 25 per cent of the 64,41,634 voters exercised their franchise during the first three hours of polling to decide the fate of 51 candidates in five Lok Sabha seats in Assam amidst tight security on Monday.
With polling beginning at 7 am, Tezpur recorded 20 per cent, Jorhat 22 per cent, Lakhimpur 25 per cent, Dibrugarh 20 per cent and Koliabor 30 per cent votes till 10 am, election office sources said.
Polling has been peaceful so far.
There were reports of EVMs malfunctioning in Dibrugarh, Kaliabor, Tezpur and Lakhimpur constituencies. The machines were later replaced and voting continued uninterrupted, the sources said.
Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi, his wife as well as his son and Koliabor constituency Congress candidate Gaurav Gogoi cast their vote in Jorhat, while union minister and contestants Paban Singh Ghatowar and Ranee Narah also exercised their franchise in Dibrugarh and Lakhimpur constituencies, respectively.
Former union minister and sitting MP Bijoy Krishna Handique, contesting as Congress nominee from Jorhat, also cast his vote with his family members.
With 6.5 lakh first time voters registered this time, long queues were seen in front of the polling booths.
Most of the early morning voters were women who said they wanted to cast their ballot before they get busy in household chores for the day.
The Congress, BJP, Trinamool Congress, AIUDF, AGP, AAP, SUCI, CPI(M), AIFB and SP are contesting in the five seats during the first phase of elections in the Congress-ruled state.
The state election office was webcasting the election process in each polling station.
Assam records 12 percent polling in first two hours
People queued up at polling booths in Assam's five constituencies as balloting began in the first phase of the Lok Sabha election on Monday. The state recorded 12 per cent voting in the first two hours, officials said.
The polling started at 7 am in most of the polling stations, barring a few polling booths under Kaliabor and Tezpur Lok Sabha constituencies where the process was delayed due to some technical snags in the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs).
People were seen queuing up at most of the 8,588 polling booths since early hours in the morning.
An estimated 6.4 million people are eligible to vote in Tezpur, Jorhat, Kaliabor, Dibrugarh and Lakhimpur constituencies.
A total of 51 candidates are in the fray in the first phase.
15 percent votes cast in Tripura till 9 am
About 15 per cent votes were cast within two hours of voting in Tripura West Lok Sabha constituency, where polling began at 7 am on Monday.
Of the two constituencies - Tripura West and Tripura East (ST), election is being held in Tripura West constituency today where about 15 per cent voters exercised their franchise till 9 am, sources in the state election department said.
People were seen standing in long queues much before polling began in front of the booths in the capital city.
Senior citizens, including women, were seen standing in the queues.
While male voters outnumbered female voters in the state capital and other towns, women were more in number in tribal compact areas like Mandai and Burakha.
Tribal women dressed in traditional attire had lined up before the booths.Tea shops and snack vendors were doing brisk business.
Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar, BJP candidate and President of the party Sudhindra Dasgupta, state secretary of CPI-M Bijan Dhar, Congress Candidate and former Vice- Chancellor Arunoday Saha, TMC candidate Ratan Chakraborty exercised their franchise in different polling stations of the capital city.
Security forces were deployed in adequate number in all the polling stations.
No untoward incident was reported from any part of the poll-bound areas.
Polling for the Tripura East (ST) seat will be held on April 12.
Comments
Add new comment