Guwahati, April 7 (IANS) Over 49 percent of voters Monday cast their ballot in the first six hours of polling in five Lok Sabha constituencies in Assam, officials said.
Monday's polling kick-started the nine-phase 16th Lok Sabha polls in the country.
As balloting began from 7 a.m., people queued up at polling stations in the state's five constituencies - Tezpur, Jorhat, Kaliabor, Dibrugarh and Lakhimpur. Brisk polling was seen barring a few booths where the process was delayed due to technical snags in the electronic voting machines (EVMs).
The overall polling percentage in the five constituencies was 49.64 percent till 1 p.m., Assam's chief electoral officer said.
While 12 percent polling was recorded in the first two hours till 9 a.m., it went up to 36.44 percent by 11 a.m.
With 53.89 percent of polling, Tezpur recorded the highest voting so far among the five constituencies, followed by Kaliabor with 51.04 percent, Lakhimpur with 49.43 percent, Jorhat with 48.02 percent and Dibrugarh with 45.82 percent, the electoral office said.
Polling was peaceful in all the five constituencies, even as the day coincided with the 'Raising Day' of insurgent outfit United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA).
Although there were no direct threats by the militants this time, police and security forces were deployed in strength to ensure smooth polling.
An estimated 6.4 million people were eligible to vote Monday for the five seats, which have a total of 51 candidates in the fray.
The second phase of polling will be held April 12 in three of the state's total 14 constituencies - Silchar, Karimganj and Diphu (autonomous district).
The third phase will be held April 24 in the remaining six constituencies - Gauhati, Barpeta, Nowgong, Dhubri, Kokrajhar and Mangaldai.
Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi's son Gourav Gogoi, outgoing Congress MP Bijoy Krishna Handique, BJP state president Sarbananda Sonowal, and union ministers Ranee Narah and Paban Singh Ghatowar are among Monday's prominent aspirants.
In the past few days, gold and silver have been setting new records every day. However, today, af
A man who has never missed voting
Kalpa (Himachal Pradesh), April 9 (IANS) He is a voter like none other. Shyam Saran Negi, 97, o
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will go on a six-day visit to the Netherlands, Denmark, an
Art of Living organized a spiritual confluence in Jind's Sector 7-A on Tuesday. During this, reli
Infinix InBook X1 Neo: This slim laptop launched in India is specially designed for students
Infinix InBook X1 Neo Specifications: Infinix has launched a new laptop Infinix InBook X1 Neo in
Rains are continuing in most of the states of the country. The Meteorological Department (IMD) ha
Sugar export curbs: Limit sugar exports to maintain sweetness, increase in prices will be curbed
The government has restricted the export of sugar to 10 million metric tonnes this year to mainta
The central government has stepped up its steps to protect customers from fake reviews of product
Rain leads to Chilly Wednesday, Thursday to be Colder (Lead)
New Delhi, Jan 14 (IANS) Overnight rain lead to a chilly Wednesday, as the maximum temperature
MS Dhoni: Defamation case filed against MS Dhoni, case to be heard in Delhi High Court on January 29
The Delhi High Court has adjourned till January 29 the hearing in the defamation case filed again
