65 pc voting in Assam’s 1st phase of panchayat polls

Guwahati: An estimated 65 per cent electorate exercised their franchise in the first phase of the panchayat elections in Assam which was marked by minor incidents of irregularities related to electoral rolls.  Voting began at 7 a.m in eight upper Assam districts and ended at 3 p.m. The voting percentage is expected to go up as final reports were yet to come in, official sources said here. Irregularities in electoral rolls with names of eligible voters missing and wrong symbols printed were reported from some polling centres in Lakhimpur, Dhemaji, Nagaon, Sibsagar and Golaghat districts due to which polling in these centres had to stopped.  The Commission had appointed 16 observers to ensure smooth and fair conduct of the polls in 8269 polling stations. The districts which went to polls in the first phase were Dibrugarh, Tinsukia, Sivasagar, Dhemaji, Lakhimpur, Jorhat, Golaghat and Nagaon.   The second and third phases of the panchayat poll are scheduled on February 6 and 12 respectively. (PTI)