Voting picks up in NC Hills

Haflong, Nov 26 (UNI) About 30 per cent voting has been registered till noon in the North Cachar Hills District Autonomous Council (NCHDAC) election today.

Electioneering is being held amidst unprecedented security and no untoward incident has been reported so far, police sources informed.

There were isolated reports of intimidation by the Dimasa ultras, opposing the election in the district.

Altogether 15 constituencies of the 28-member NCHDAC are going to the polls today. As many as 57,511 voters will decide the fate of 47 candidates in the first phase.

Of the total 86 polling stations in the first phase, 41 have been identified as very sensitive and 23 as sensitive stations.

Election to Lower Khartong constituency, slated to be held in the first phase, was countermanded following the killing of the Congress candidate by militants.

The bloody run-up to the polls, including death of the candidate and several other security personnel by Dimasa ultras, has forced the administration to clamp high security cover in all the polling constituencies and also plan out the election in two phases.

The electioneering has been low key and most of the big players of the state politics have stayed away. The outgoing Chief Executive Member of the council Purnendu Langthasa and his colleague were killed in an ambush by Dimasa militants in June this year and elections, originally scheduled for the same month, were postponed.

The main contest is between the Congress, who held power in the outgoing Council, and the ASDC-BJP combine.

The second phase of poll for 12 constituencies will be held on December one and counting of votes will be on December four here.

The oath-taking ceremony of the newly elected members of the council would take place on December seven.

UNI