High voter turnout in Assam, West Bengal polls

Record 85 per cent votes were cast in Assam while 79.51 per cent votes were cast in West Bengal.

High voter turnout was recorded in the assembly polls in Assam and West Bengal where an estimated 85 per cent and 79.51 per cent of the voters cast their ballots Monday amid sporadic clashes and police firing that resulted in the death of an elderly voter.

"As per the reports received till 5 PM, 82.02 per cent of voting had taken place. However, as a large number of voters were still standing in queue at 5 PM, the final polling percentage is likely to go to approximately 85 per cent," the Election Department said in a statement.

In Assam, where balloting was held in 61 constituencies in the second and final phase, an 80-year-old voter died in a scuffle between Central Reserve Police Force personnel and the locals over forming a queue at a polling station in Sorbhog seat in Barpeta district, officials said. Three others, including a CRPF assistant commandant and a constable were also injured in the incident.

Security personnel fired in the air to quell a protest at Chaygaon in Kamrup district after a CRPF constable allegedly "misbehaved" with a pregnant voter who re-entered a polling station to pick up her child whom she had inadvertently forgotten to carry while leaving after casting her vote.

The entire team of CRPF deployed in the polling station was replaced after the incident, the district superintendent of police Prasanta Saikia said.

Long queues were seen outside polling booths since early morning and prominent among those who cast their vote was former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, a Rajya Sabha member of the Congress from the state since 1991. Singh came to Guwahati from Delhi to cast his ballot at Dispur government high school.

There were reports of malfunctioning of electronic voting machines from some polling centres but the machines were replaced immediately, election office said.

Prominent among those whose fate will be decided in the second phase include cabinet ministers Rakibul Hussain, Chandan Sarkar and Nazrul Islam of Congress, Asom Gana Parishad leader and former chief minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta and Bharatiya Janata Party national spokesman Sidhartha Bhattacharya. Also in the fray is former Congress minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who revolted against Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi and later joined BJP last year.

There are 525 candidates in the fray.

The Congress, which under Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi is seeking a fourth straight term in power, has fielded 57 candidates, BJP 35, its allies AGP 19 and BPF 10, AIDUF 47, CPI-M nine and CPI five.

65 of the state's 126 seats had gone to polls on April 4.

West Bengal

Amid reports of stray incidents of violence in some pockets, an estimated 79.51 per cent voters exercised their franchise until 5 pm in 31 assembly constituencies in three districts of West Bengal in part two of the first phase of election.

A large number of people lined up in front of the polling booths even before 7 am when voting began to beat the sweltering heat as day temperatures are above 40 degree Celsius due to a heat wave.

A Communist Party of India-Marxist agent was injured after he was allegedly beaten up by Trinamool Congress workers and obstructed from entering a polling booth in Jamuria. TMC denied the allegation.

Two bags containing bombs were found near a polling booth in Jamuria by police.

Polling was disrupted for some time at a booth in Pandaveswar constituency in Burdwan district when a polling officer Parimal Bauri died of heart attack. Voting resumed after another officer took charge.

Seven EVMs were found to be malfunctioning at Barjora, two at Bankura and three at Chatna constituency before polling began in Bankura district. The EVMs were replaced quickly.

In the first phase of polling on April 4, Assam registered 82.20 per cent votes in 65 of the 126 assembly constituencies spread across upper Assam, two hill districts and Barak Valley while in West Bengal 80.92 per cent votes were cast in West Bengal. 

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