TURA, Oct 30: The staggering number of voters exercising their franchise has given positive vibes about the peoples’ keenness to participate in the democratic process of the nation.
But, despite the largest turnout at Rajabala, in stark comparison to Mawryngkneng and Mawphlang, not everyone was that enthusiastic about the by-poll.
Out of 32,750 registered voters of Rajabala, a whooping 29681 punched in their vote in the EVM, but, there were also the remaining 3069 who failed to turn up for various reasons.
Elections in the plain belt have always been interesting for political watchers and Rajabala was no different.
From the start of the campaign process, right down to the last hour of campaigning on October 27th afternoon, rallies witnessed impressive turnouts- so much that even covid protocols went for a toss.
Even on polling day, in stark comparison to Tura and other tribal dominated areas, voters, both women and men, were already making a beeline for the polling booth as soon as polls opened in the morning.
By 8 AM long queues could be noticed in several polling stations, particularly those in the minority dominated and heavily populated areas of Rajabala.
This election wasn’t without its glitches, either. Two Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail or VVPAT machines initially malfunctioned, one each at Batabari and Old Bhaitbari polling stations, but were replaced with the spare machines at the start of polling.
For those unaware, a VVPAT is intended as an independent verification system for voting machines designed to allow voters to verify that their vote was cast correctly, to detect possible election fraud or malfunction, and to provide a means to audit the stored electronic results.
