Polls to five assemblies begins with Assam (Lead)
April 4th, 2011 - 11:48 am ICT by IANS
Guwahati, April 4 (IANS) Elections to five assemblies kicked off Monday with the first phase being held in Assam where voting began at 7 a.m. No untoward incidents were reported, officials said.
Twelve percent votes were cast in the first two hours of polling. Voting began at 7 a.m. in 62 assembly constituencies of the total 126 assembly seats.
“Around 12 percent votes have been cast in the first two hours. It has been largely peaceful,” an election official said.
People in large numbers queued up before polling booths well before the scheduled time.
“We expect free and fair polling with adequate security arrangements being made,” the official said.
Voting is to continue till 3 p.m. in about 11,000 polling stations in 13 districts..
An estimated 485 candidates are in the fray for the first phase vote; of these, 38 are women candidates.
The Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have fielded 62 candidates each for the first phase, while the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) has put up 51 nominees. There are 157 independent candidates in the fray for the first phase.
The second phase of voting on April 11 in 64 seats would decide the fate of 496 candidates. Results are due May 13.
Over 30,000 police and paramilitary troopers are deployed for the first phase with authorities not taking any chances despite a general lull in the insurgency front.
Among the prominent candidates whose fate would be sealed in the first phase vote include Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi, Power Minister Pradyut Bordoloi, BJP state president Ranjit Dutta, and senior Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) leader Brindaban Goswami.
The multi-phased elections in Assam, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry end May 10 in West Bengal. This is the first major electoral exercise since the 2009 general elections.
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- 70 percent polling recorded in Assam (Fourth Lead) - Apr 04, 2011
- Polling underway for first phase of Assam elections - Apr 04, 2011
- Election 2011 begins peacefully with Assam, 66 percent turnout (Roundup) - Apr 04, 2011
- Stage set for Assam first phase elections (Poll Curtain Raiser) - Apr 03, 2011
- Voting continues peacefully in Assam (Second Lead) - Apr 11, 2011
- Second phase polling underway in Assam (Lead) - Apr 11, 2011
- 65-70 percent polling recorded in Assam - Apr 04, 2011
- Assam polls: 12 per cent vote cast in first two hours - Apr 04, 2011
- Polling begins for second phase of Assam elections - Apr 11, 2011
- Moderate to heavy polling in Assam (Third Lead) - Apr 11, 2011
- Assam CM Gogoi cast his vote, confident of victory - Apr 04, 2011
- Around 65 percent turnout as voting ends in Assam (Fourth Lead) - Apr 11, 2011
Tags: adequate security, asom, assam, assembly constituencies, assembly seats, bharatiya janata party, bjp, chief minister, election official, electoral exercise, general elections, independent candidates, polling booths, polling stations, power minister, puducherry, security arrangements, state president, tamil nadu, west bengal