Guwahati: More than 85 per cent voters exercised their franchise in second and final phase of polling in 61 Assembly constituencies in Assam on Monday to decide the fate of 525 candidates in the fray. The office of the chief electoral officer, Assam said teh final figure may go up.
Except a few sporadic incident of violence, the polling was almost incident free all across the state. PTI reported that one person had been killed in a clash.
Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, representing Assam in the Rajya Sabha since 1991, came from Delhi to cast his ballot at the Dispur Government High School polling booth. His wife Gurcharan Kaur, also a voter of Dispur constituency did not come.
Asked about the BJP’s allegation that he had not done anything for Assam when he was the prime minister, Mr Singh said, “I do not want to counter what the Prime Minister had said about me. But he (Mr Narendra Modi) also knows that what he has said is not true.”
Indian boxer from Assam Shiva Thapa, along with his family members, cast his vote. He said that he took out time from his training schedule.
FIR lodged against tarun Gogoi
An FIR was lodged in Guwahati against Assam CM Tarun Gogoi on Monday under electoral laws on the instructions of the EC for holding a press conference when the second and final phase of assembly polls in the states were on as it could have influenced voters. Deputy EC Sandeep Saxena said that authorities had told Gogoi that holding a press conference before end of poll was not advisable.
189 evms’ replaced for polls
At least 189 Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) malfunctioned on Monday and were replaced during the second and concluding phase of Assembly elections across 61 constituencies in Assam.
EC officials said the number was likely to go up as reports from some remote areas were still coming. The highest number of EVM malfunctioning has been witnessed in Hojai election district.
