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.
Vicky Kaushal became an actor from an engineer, read some unheard things on his birthday
New Delhi: Vicky Kaushal, who impressed everyone with his acting in Bollywood, is celebrating his
The US space agency NASA has released images from the James Webb Space Telescope. These are the m
Saif Ali Khan was attacked by an intruder with a knife last night, following which the police are
Gurgaon voters praise clean polling stations
Gurgaon, April 10 (IANS) Voters gave the thumbs up for polling stations here in Haryana, and fo
Why won't it matter to India if Pakistan doesn't come to play World Cup, said former player
Pakistan Cricket Board Chief Rameez Raja recently said that if India does not come to Pakistan to
Pakistan Rangers, BSF clash on Kashmir border
Jammu, Feb 15 (IANS) Pakistan Rangers Sunday fired at an Indian border post in Jammu and Kashmir
Lakshya Sen: FIR lodged against Commonwealth Games gold medalist Lakshya Sen, alleging age rigging
Arjuna Awardee and Birmingham Commonwealth Games gold medalist shuttler Lakshya Sen has been accu
Monsoon has slowed down over Northwest India. According to the Meteorological Department, it is n
Modi to retain Varanasi seat
Lucknow, May 29 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi will retain the Varanasi Lok Sabha seat in Utt
Mangalore church attacked by anti-social elements: Minister
Mangalore, Feb 25 (IANS) A church was attacked here by some "anti-social elements", Karnataka H
