Assam polls: 38.08 per cent voter turnout till 1.10 pm

Assam recorded a voter turnout of 38.08 per cent till 1.10 pm across 39 constituencies in 13 districts during the second phase of the state assembly polls, according to the Election Commission (EC).

The Nowgowg constituency in the state has witnessed the highest voting percentage with a voter turnout of 54.10 per cent till 1.10 pm, while the Jagiroad constituency witnessed the lowest voting percentage with a voter turnout of just 18.20 per cent.

The second phase of polling for assembly elections in the states of West Bengal and Assam began at 7 am on Thursday and is currently underway.

Congress leader Sushmita Dev voted at a polling station in Silchar. After casting her vote, she interacted with the media and said, "Mahajot (grand alliance) is an inclusive alliance while BJP is a communal alliance."

The All India United Democratic Front President Badruddin Ajmal also voted at polling station number 21 in Hojai. While interacting with the media after casting his vote, Ajmal asked the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to show a record of illegal Bangladeshis immigrants living in the country who were sent back as promised by the ruling party.

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah have said they will send Bangladeshi infiltrators back. I want to ask them how many Bangladeshis sent back till now? I challenge them to tell if even 100 Bangladeshis have been sent back in the last five years. They are the ones who get them here," he said.

Earlier, former Minister of State (MoS) for Railways Rajen Gohain after casting his vote at a polling booth in Nagaon, said BJP will form government in Assam by winning more than 75 seats in the state.

"BJP will get over 35 seats out of the total 47 in the first phase. In the second phase too, we will get many seats. BJP will undoubtedly form the government in the state with more than 75 seats," BJP leader Gohain had said.

Polling is underway in Assam for the second phase of assembly elections and COVID-19 safety protocols are being followed at various polling booths.

Voting for the second and penultimate phase of Assam assembly elections was temporarily stopped at polling stations at Silchar and Nagaon due to EVM malfunctions.

Over 73.44 lakh voters are eligible to cast their votes in the second phase of the elections. Of them, 37,34,537 are male voters and 36,09,959 are female voters, while 135 are third gender voters. The voting will be held on 8,998 polling stations and 556 of them are all-women polling stations.

A total of 345 candidates in 39 constituencies across 13 districts are in the fray in this phase of voting. Polling for the third and last phase will be held on April 6. The counting of votes will take place on May 2.

The main contest is seen to be between the alliances led by BJP and Congress.

The BJP-led alliance includes the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and United People's Party Liberal (UPPL). Congress has stitched a broad alliance that includes All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF), Communist Party of India, the Communist Party of India (Marxist), the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation, the Anchalik Gana Marcha (AGM) and the Bodoland Peoples' Front (BPF).

The election in the second phase includes 15 assembly seats in the Barak Valley. In the 2016 polls, BJP had bagged eight seats - six from Cachar district and two from bordering Karimganj district, which shares a boundary with Bangladesh.

( With inputs from ANI )