LS poll 1st phase: 72% turnout in Assam, 80% in Tripura

Guwahati/Agartala, April 7: The first of the nine phases of the Lok Sabha

2014 kicked off on Monday. Six seats in

and

went to the polls on the first day. 72 per cent of the 64.4 lakh voters exercised their franchise peacefully in five Lok Sabha constituencies in Assam sealing the electoral fate of 51 contestants, including two union ministers in the first

.

Tezpur recorded 73 per cent voting, Jorhat 75 per cent, Lakhimpur 67, Dibrugarh 70 and Koliabor 72 per cent, the sources said. New voters in the 18-19 age group from among the first-time 6.5 lakh electorate came out in large numbers to choose their representatives.

Eighty per cent voter turnout was registered in Tripura. Voter turnout in the state assembly elections held in Feb, 2013 was a staggering 93 per cent, which was a record in the country. Polling for the East Tripura (ST Reserve) seat will be held on April 12. There were two LS seats in the state.

4.50 pm:

About 74 percent of the electorate cast their votes peacefully till 3 pm in the Tripura West Lok Sabha constituency in the first phase of polling in the Left Front ruled state, PTI reported. "Approximately 74 percent voters cast their votes till 3 pm. The election remained completely incident free so far," Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), Ashutosh Jindal told reporters.

4.03 pm:

According to Election Commission Assam had registered 63 per cent of votes till 3.30 pm. Voting in the state began to gather steam post noon.

4.02 pm:

Reports suggest that officials may extend the polling time beyond 5 pm.

3.05 pm:

According to Election Commission officials, Assam has registered about 50 per cent voting till 1.30 pm. Tezpur registered 53.89 per cent voting, Kaliabor registered 51.04 per cent voting, Jorhat registered 48.02 per cent voting, Dibrugarh registers 45.82 per cent voting and Lakhimpur registers 49.43 per cent voting.

2.53 pm:

Around 60 percent of the electorate had cast their votes till 2 pm Monday as polling was held in one of the two constituencies in Left-ruled Tripura, an official said.

2.26 pm:

Reports suggest that voting in places like Dibrugarh was registered at 38 per cent and Kaliabor was registered at 30 per cent till noon.

1.58 pm:

Reports suggest that atleast 33 Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) were malfunctioning in five Lok Sabha constituencies in Assam. Authorities replaced 29 of the faulty machines.

1.13 pm:

According to officials, 35 per cent of votes have been cast in Assam and 41 percent of votes have been cast in Tripura till noon.

12.55 pm:

According to CNN-IBN, in four hours of polling in Assam, Jorhat records 19 per cent, Koliabor records 17 per cent, Dibrugarh records 34 per cent, Tezpur records 34 per cent and Lakhimpur records 23 per cent of votes.

12.02 pm:

Assam CM Tarun Gogoi today said that 'Assam doesn't have any Modi magic. After casting his vote, Gogoi spoke to reporters and said: "I am sure Congress will get more than ten seats here," he said. Referring to Koliabor, he said that he was confident of his son Gaurav.

"Gaurav will definitely win from Koliabor and the polling percentage will be the highest among the state," he said.

11.14 am:

According to reports, women turned up in huge numbers in Tripura to cast their votes. While men outnumbered the women in the capital and other towns, women showed up in large numbers in the tribal areas.

Tripura CM Manik Sarkar, TMC candidate Ratan Chakraborty, Congress candidate Arunoday Saha and others cast their votes in different polling booths in the capital.

11.07 am:

According to a report in the Outlook, in Assam over 25 percent cast their votes in the three hours of voting.

10.55 am:

Tripura records 15 per cent voting till 9 am, according to officials.

10.18 am:

Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chauhan tweets on first day of elections-

10.10 am:

According to officials, Assam records 12 per cent polling in first two hours.

9.57 am:

AAP candidate from Amethi Kumar Vishwas tweeted today urging people to go and cast their votes-

9.38 am:

Tripura CM Manik Sarkar spoke to Times Now and said that 'Congress is losing ground and that BJP may increase its vote share in the state.' He said: "People are disgusted with the Congress and the party is losing its ground. People are deserting Congress."

9.04 am:

Assam CM Tarun Gogoi's son Gaurav Gogoi casts his vote in Jorhat, thanks locals and polling officers for their efforts.

8.37 am:

Assam CM Tarun Gogoi's son, Gaurav Gogoi who is contesting for the first time from Koliabor is confident of winning. Speaking to reporters he said: "I am confident of winning. The wind is blowing in the right direction."

8.24 am

Sitting Lakhimpur MP Ranee Narah, a Union minister, casts her ballot.

8.24 am:

BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi tweeted today and urged the voters to go out and cast their votes.

8.20 am

Voting undergoing peacefully in Assam. However, there are a few reports about EVM's malfunctioning.

8.09 am:

The CPI(M) has won the Tripura West constituency 10 times since 1952, the year the first general election was held. Thirteen candidates in fray from this seat this time.AGP and BJP had an alliance during the 2009 Lok Sabha polls, they fell apart following differences.

7.57 am:

Polling in other constituencies in Assam and Tripura to take place on April 12 and 24.

7.55 am:

Polling to take place in 8,588 booths in Assam the first phase. 6.4 million voters expected to cast ballots in the state.

7.32 am:

The Congress had won four of the five seats which are going to polls in Assam today. The other seat went to the AGP. Will the Narendra Modi factor make it difficult for the Congress in a state where it has been dominant throughout?

7.30 am:

Fifty-one candidates are contesting in the five constituencies of Assam. Prominent among them are Union ministers of state Paban Singh Ghatowar (Dibrugarh) and Ranee Narah (Lakhimpur), state BJP chief Sarbananda Sonowal (Lakhimpur), former Union minister B K Handique (Jorhat) and Gourav Gogoi, son of Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi (Kaliabor).

7.25 am:

At least two former ULFA militants are in the poll fray, namely, Hari Prasad Dihingiya of the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and Raj Kumar Dowarah, who is figting his fifth election this time. He has lost all his previous elections, two assembly and two Lok Sabha ones. Dhingiya is contesting from Lakhimpur while Doworah is contesting from Jorhat.

7.21 am:

Security has been beefed up in all the poll-bound constituencies in Assam and Tripura.

7.20 am:

Ten parties are in the fray in the six constituencies going to the polls.

7.10 am:

7.6 million Indians will cast their votes in the first phase.

7.05 am:

Polling kicks off in Jorhat, Kaliabor, Jorhat, Dibrugarh and Lakhimpur in Assam and Tripura West constituency in Tripura.

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