Lok Sabha elections 2019: NRC, citizenship bill row key voter issues in Assam and Tripura

Former Assam director general of police Harekrishna Deka alleged that the VVPAT slip he received after casting his vote carried the name of a candidate different from the one he had voted for.

Lok Sabha polls concluded on Tuesday as the remaining four of the state’s 14 seats went to polls in the third phase of general elections amid reports of electronic voting machine (EVM) glitches. The voter turnout was 80.73%.

The National Register of Citizens (NRC) and the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, which seeks to make it easier for non-Muslims from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan to get Indian nationality, dominated the campaigning in the state. (REUTERS)

Admitting a few incidents of EVM malfunction, Assam’s chief electoral officer M C Sahu said, “They were readily replaced.”

The National Register of Citizens (NRC) and the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, which seeks to make it easier for non-Muslims from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan to get Indian nationality, dominated the campaigning in the state.

Bharatiya Janata Party allies Asom Gana Parishad and the Bodoland People’s Front contested from Barpeta and Kokrajhar. Badruddin Ajmal’s All India United Democratic Front will be hoping to retain its influence in Dhubri and Barpeta.

In Tripura, polling was held in one of the state’s two seats, with ten candidates in the fray. Voter turnout was 79.89%.