Over 91 per cent turnout in Nagaland's bypolls

Kohima, Mar 9 (UNI) A record voter turnout of over 91 per cent was recorded in the bypolls to Dimapur-I and Tuensang Sadar II assembly constituencies in Nagaland yesterday, state election office said today.

Barring some stray incidents in some polling stations at Dimapur-I and destruction of an Electronic Voting Machine at Tuensang Sadar II, the polling passed off peacefully.

An overall 84.91 per cent of the 17,155 electorate cast their ballots at 38 polling booths in Dimapur-I, where five candidates are slugging it out. The polling station number ten in Supply Colony under Dimapur-I, recorded 100 per cent voter turnout.

In the Tuensang Sadar II, a total of 98.30 per cent of the 18,304 electorate exercised their franchise at 21 polling stations.

Four candidates are in the fray from the constituency.

Deputy Commissioner of Tuensang Abhijit Sinha, who is also the Returning Officer, has recommended re-polling in Chendang polling station under Tuensang Sadar II with total voters of 497, following the destruction of an EVM by a mob, which entered the polling station and disrupted polling before destroying the EVM.

In Dimapur-I, an angry mob demonstrated against the presiding officer in polling station number 9. They also assaulted the photographer of a local daily.

Meanwhile, Nagaland Pradesh Congress Committee (NPCC), in a letter to the Election Commission, had alleged that despite of ban imposed on plying vehicles in Dimapur-I constituency during the polling hours, a number of Ministers, Parliamentary Secretaries and Legislators, with police body guards, were visiting the polling booths. The letter give details of the the names of the visitors along with the number of polling stations.

The party has demanded re-polling at two polling stations of Dimapur-I, where they alleged that the polling was held under the ''directions of the Nagaland Peoples Front workers''.

UNI