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Voting ends in Arunachal, 70 per cent polling recorded

Voting in the Assembly election in Arunachal Pradesh ended on Tuesday with heavy turnout, officials said.

Updated on: Oct 13, 2009 07:00 PM IST
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Voting in the Assembly election in Arunachal Pradesh ended on Tuesday with heavy turnout, officials said.

HT Image
HT Image

"Voting has ended peacefully with premilinary reports that an estimated 70 per cent polling was recorded," an election official said here.

"The final polling percentage could be a little higher as we are still compiling figures from remote areas," the official said.

There were a few minor incidents of faulty working of electronic voting machines (EVMs) and temporary suspension of voting, but otherwise polling passed off peacefully, officials said.

Voting was held for 57 seats as three candidates have already been declared elected unopposed.

Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu and two more Congress members were declared elected unopposed - sitting legislator Tsewang Dhondup from Tawang constituency and debutant Jambey Tashi from Lumla.

Khandu was elected unopposed from the Mukto constituency in Tawang district, bordering China, in the 1999 and 2004 assembly elections as well.

Many people queued up at polling stations well before voting began at 7 a.m.

A total of 154 candidates were in the fray with the ruling Congress party fielding candidates to all the 60 seats.

An estimated 750,000 voters were eligible to exercise their franchise.

The fight for political supremacy would be between the ruling Congress party and a fractured opposition - two of them, the Natioalist Congress Party (NCP) and the Trinamool Congress, part of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government in New Delhi, and the Bharatiya Janata Party.

"It was heartening to see people come out in large numbers. This is an indication that we are winning the polls hands down once again," a confident Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu told IANS soon after voting ended as scheduled at 4 p.m.

 
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