20-25 pc polling in Sikkim
An estimated 20-25 per cent of the electorate exercised their right to vote till noon in Sikkim being held for the 32 assembly seats.
An estimated 20-25 per cent of the electorate exercised their right to vote till noon in Sikkim being held simultaneously for the 32 assembly and lone Lok Sabha seat on Monday.
About 20-25 per cent polling has been recorded in 349 polling stations of the state by 1200 hrs, Deputy Chief Electoral Officer C P Dhakal said adding that polling has been absolutely peaceful with no untowrad incident reported.
The voter turnout was, however, expected to rise as the day advances, Dhakal said.
Polling percentage has traditionally been high in this tiny hill state which recorded 81 per cent in the 1999 elections, Dhakal said.
Long queues of enthusiastic voters at different polling stations, women outnumbering men in most of them, were sighted in Gangtok.
Voters hardly faced any problem casting their ballot on the EVMs, being used for the first time in the state.
A 2,81,629 strong electorate in Sikkim is choosing its representatives for the 32-member state assembly and single Lok Sabha seat for which total 95 candidates including four for the Lok Sabha are in the fray with the Chief Minister and SDF president Pawan Chamling and his bete noire Former Chief Minister Nar Bahadur Bhandari of the Congress.