BackElections Phase 2: Northeast registers high turnout, peaceful polling once again
Nagaland records 82.5% polling, Manipur 70%, Meghalaya 64% and Arunachal Pradesh 71%, says EC
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New Delhi: It was another spectacle of very high turnout of voters during Phase 2 of Lok Sabha elections on Wednesday in six Lok Sabha constituencies spread across four northeastern states where polling was by and large peaceful.
The conduct of polling was smooth barring a few incidents due to which polling could not take place in seven places in Arunachal Pradesh and one in Nagaland. In Outer Manipur Lok Sabha constituency, the turnout was 70%. With voters standing in long queues even after polling hours, the Election Commission of India (EC) in New Delhi said the percentage could go up to 78%. In the 2009 Lok Sabha polls, the constituency had witnessed 77.43% polling.
In the two constituencies of Meghalaya, the poll percentage was 64% when the polling ended at 5pm. The EC said the figure could go up to 66%. In 2009 polls, the poll percentage recorded in Meghalaya was 64.42%.
Voting in Nagaland’s lone parliamentary constituency was reported as “brisk and peaceful" by the EC with 82.5% of the electorate casting their votes. The commission expects a higher percentage as reports from some areas were still awaited. In 2009 Lok Sabha polls, the poll percentage was a massive 90.22%.
The first phase of Lok Sabha election in five constituencies of Assam and one of Tripura on 7 April had also recorded 72% and 84% turnout. Till the 2009 general election, the election photo i-card coverage in Nagaland was "zero" but in these Lok Sabha polls, the photo i-card coverage has increased to 95.96%. Most of the voters in Nagaland have the latest plastic i-cards which are long lasting, EC officials said in New Delhi.
In Arunachal Pradesh’s two constituencies, voters turned out in large numbers despite some regions experiencing rains and snowfall in Tawang. The poll percentage till 5pm was recorded at 71% and was expected to go up. In the last Lok Sabha election, the percentage of voter turnout was 68%.
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