15% voter turnout in first 3 hours in Assam

Guwahati: The first three hours in the third and final phase of the Assam Assembly polls on Tuesday witnessed a 15% voter turn out, the election officials said, IANS reported. The polls conducted in 40 constituencies amid tight security was being maintained everywhere following all Covid protocols.

Election officials said that no untoward incident was reported from anywhere of the 12 western Assam districts where balloting is underway peacefully and smoothly.

The voters comprising men, women and the first time electorates, in large numbers queued up in front of the polling stations well before they opened at 7 a.m.

The polling would continue till 6 p.m. without any break as the Election Commission has extended an hour in view of the Covid-19 induced situations.

According to the state's Chief Electoral Officer Nitin Khade, a total of 79,19,641 voters, including 39,07,963 women electorates, are eligible to cast their ballots across 9,587 polling stations in 6,107 locations.

Of the 9,587 polling stations, 316 are all women managed polling stations.

Khade told the media that around 32,000 Central Armed Police Forces, along with thousands of state security force personnel, have been deployed to maintain law and order during this phase in which 45,604 polling personnel were engaged to conduct the polls.

Tuesday's polling would also decide the political fate of Finance, Health, Education, PWD Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and ruling party's state President Ranjeet Kumar Dass.

Sarma, convener of the BJP backed anti-Congress body, North East Democratic Alliance, is contesting from the Jalukbari seat from where he consecutively won since 2001, while Dass is contesting from Patacharkuchi seat.

In the 2016 elections, he was elected to the Assembly from the Sorbhog constituency.

Covid-19 protocols for the voters including social distancing and thermal screening are being maintained.