Guwahati: Various awareness and elector engagement campaigns under SVEEP by the state election department in the run-up to the three-phase Lok Sabha elections in Assam have paid rich dividends ensuring a sizeable turnout of voters in five constituencies of Assam on Friday.
Notably, 10-Kaziranga, 11-Sonitpur, 12-Lakhimpur, 13-Dibrugarh and 14-Jorhat parliamentary constituencies that went to the hustings along with 97 other seats during the first phase of the general elections on Friday recorded an estimated 71.38% at 7 pm, official sources informed.
A large number of first-time voters, senior citizens, and women also exercised their franchise at the polling booths, with pleasant weather also helping matters in some election districts of the state.
“Voters reaching the polling stations till the end of polling hour are allowed to cast their vote. Final figures will be known tomorrow after the scrutiny of form 17A,” stated an official statement issued by the Election Commission of India (ECI).
On the other hand, the voter turnout in the rest of the Northeastern states too was decent with Tripura recording at 79.90 percent till 7 pm, the highest among the Northeastern states.
The hill state of Meghalaya recorded a 70.26 percent turnout, Manipur recorded 68.62 percent, Sikkim posted 68.06 percent, Arunachal Pradesh recorded 65.46 percent, Nagaland recorded 56.77 percent while Mizoram recorded a relatively lower turnout of 54.18 percent.
Except for reports of a few technical glitches, with electronic voting machines “malfunctioning” in a few polling stations, the election was relatively smooth and peaceful throughout the day in all the five seats of Assam, thanks to elaborate security arrangements made by the election department.
As many as 86,47869 electors were eligible to vote for 35 candidates of five Lok Sabha seats during the first phase. Out of the total number of voters, 4282887 are male electors, 4364859 are female electors and 123 electors are third gender voters.
Voters, young and old, turned up in large numbers from early in the day to late afternoon with the Assured Minimum Facilities guaranteed by the ECI at every polling station being of immense support to them. The facilities included provision for drinking water, waiting for sheds, toilets, creches for children, ramps to facilitate the PwD (persons with disability) voters and senior citizen electors, and display of voter facilitation posters, et al.
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“From first-time voters to older citizens and specially-abled individuals, every eligible voter is turning out in force to make their voices heard at the polling stations. It’s a celebration of inclusivity, empowerment, and the essence of democracy,” the official X (formerly Twitter) handle of the Chief Electoral Officer, Assam, stated.
“Regardless of age or ability, every eligible voter is casting his/her vote in the Lok Sabha General Election, 2024 with the assistance provided by polling officials at different polling stations,” it stated.
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