Guwahati, Oct 30: Five Assembly constituencies in Assam witnessed an estimated voter turnout of 73.38 percent till close of polling on Saturday, with no untoward incident reported during the day, official sources said.
Voters of all ages were seen queuing up to exercise their democratic right from early in the morning till evening as the voting process progressed smoothly amid strict COVID-19 protocols and security.
As many as 7, 96,456 general electors were eligible to exercise their franchise in the by-polls to Gossaigaon, Bhabanipur, Tamulpur, Mariani and Thowra Assembly seats.
Of the seats, Bhabanipur recorded the highest voter turnout at 78 per cent at close of polling, followed by Gossaigaon (77.37 percent), Thowra (75.07 per cent), Mariani (69.81 per cent) and Tamulpur (67.88 per cent).
The polling percentage trends picked up as the day progressed with Bhabanipur leading till about mid-day (recording 62 percent at 1pm) only to be surpassed marginally by Gossaigaon and Thowra from 3pm onwards till 5pm.
The by-polls were conducted with strict adherence to COVID-19 protocols in the backdrop of the pandemic and under heavy security with central armed police forces (CAPF) deployed in 1,176 polling stations to ensure a conducive atmosphere for the smooth conduct of the elections.
It may be mentioned that 31 candidates are in the fray in the Assam bypolls with eight each from Gossaigaon and Bhabanipur LACs, six in Tamulpur, four in Mariani and five in Thowra LAC.
The constituency having the highest number of electors is Tamulpur LAC having 2,17,432 electors. The constituency having the lowest number of electors is Thowra LAC having 1,15,971 electors.
The election machinery, to ensure an inclusive election, had extended the option of postal ballot facility to senior citizens above the age of 80 years, PwDs, COVID-19 suspected or affected persons, in addition to the persons employed in essential services.
Assured minimum facilities like drinking water, waiting sheds, toilets, adequate arrangements for lighting, wheelchairs for PwD electors were made available in all the polling stations.
Transport facilities for elderly people, along with assistance from volunteers to PwDs and senior citizens, have been arranged at the polling stations.
Further, in a major push for free and fair elections, live monitoring and webcasting was arranged by the chief electoral officer, Assam, for monitoring of poll-day proceedings in accordance with the Election Commission of India’s directives.
Webcasting was done in all the 1,176 polling stations.