Guwahati Oct 30 PTI An estimated 6960 per cent of 796 lakh voters exercised their franchise in by-elections to five assembly constituencies in Assam till 5 pm on Saturday when polling ended an official saidVoting has been peaceful in the five seats - Gossaigaon Bhabanipur Tamulpur Mariani and ThowraPolling was conducted with strict adherence to COVID-19 protocolsThe highest voter turnout of 7671 per cent was recorded in Gossaigaon followed by Thowra 7507 per cent Bhabanipur 74 per cent Tamulpur 62 per cent and Mariani 6162 per cent the official of the state Chief Electoral Officers office saidNo untoward incident has been reported so far from the five constituencies the official said adding that Central Armed Police Force CAPF personnel have been deployed in 1176 polling stations PTI ESB NN NN

Guwahati Oct 30 PTI Voting has largely been peaceful for bypolls to five assembly constituencies in Assam with 5165 per cent turnout recorded till 1 pm on Saturday an official said Polling is underway in Gossaigaon Bhabanipur Tamulpur Mariani and Thowra assembly segments with strict adherence to COVID-19 protocols he said An estimated 5165 per cent of the total 796 lakh electors exercised their franchise in the first six hours of voting with the highest turnout recorded in Bhabanipur at 62 per cent followed by Gossaigaon 5794 per cent Thowra 5452 per cent Tamulpur 47 per cent and Mariani 3513 per cent Voting which began at 7 am will continue till 5 pm No untoward incident has been reported so far from the five poll-bound constituencies the Election Commission official said adding that Central Armed Police Force CAPF personnel have been deployed in 1176 polling stations Long queues were seen outside polling booths with voters and election officials adhering to COVID-19 protocols and maintaining social distancing norms Altogether 31 candidates are in the fray the Election Commission official said In the backdrop of the pandemic polling stations were sanitised and health safety protocols are strictly followed he said First-time voters were greeted with ethnic scarf in some constituencies while volunteers helped people with disabilities PwD to enter the polling booths in wheelchairs Webcast arrangements have been put in place in all the polling stations to monitor the proceedings the official said By-elections to Gossaigaon and Tamulpur were necessitated due to death of the sitting MLAs while the incumbents of Bhabanipur Mariani and Thowra resigned from their seats to join the ruling BJP The Assam government has declared October 30 this year as paid holiday for workers and employees in all factories tea gardens banks shops and commercial establishments within the jurisdiction of the five constituencies to enable them to cast their votes in the bypolls PTI ESB TR SSG BDC BDC

Guwahati Oct 30 PTI An estimated 1286 per cent of the total 796 lakh electors exercised their franchise till 9 am on Saturday for bypolls to five assembly constituencies in Assam where voting is underway with strict adherence to COVID-19 protocols an official said The polling has been peaceful so far and long queues were seen outside polling booths with voters and election officials adhering to COVID-19 protocols he said Voting began at 7 am in 1176 polling stations in Gossaigaon Bhabanipur Tamulpur Mariani and Thowra constituencies Altogether 31 candidates are in the fray the Election Commission official said In the backdrop of the pandemic polling stations were sanitised and health safety protocols are strictly followed he said By-elections to Gossaigaon and Tamulpur were necessitated due to death of the sitting MLAs while the incumbents of Bhabanipur Mariani and Thowra resigned from their seats to join the ruling BJP Polling will continue till 5 pm in these assembly segments PTI ESB TR SSG BDC BDC

Guwahati Oct 28 PTI The election machinery in Assam has put in place all necessary arrangements for the smooth conduct of by-polls to five assembly constituencies on October 30 As many as 796 electors are eligible to exercise their franchise to decide the fate of 31 contestants in Gossaigaon Bhabanipur Tamulpur Mariani and Thowra constituencies a state Election Department release said here on Thursday To make sure that there is no problem on the law and order front and to keep a strong vigil on expenditure incurred the Election Commission of India ECI has appointed General Police and Expenditure Observers the release said Personnel of Central Armed Police Forces CAPF will be deployed at each polling station and live monitoring and webcasting have been arranged by the Chief Electoral Officer CEO Assam for monitoring the voting process live on October 30 as per the ECIs direction Webcasting will be done in all the 1176 polling stations including 285 in Gossaigaon 213 in Bhabanipur 322 in Tamulpur 183 in Mariani and 173 in Thowra constituencies To motivate voters for exercising their franchise and strictly follow COVID-19 protocol in the polling stations an awareness campaign is being conducted under the ECIs Systematic Voters Education and Electoral Participation SVEEP programme In the backdrop of the coronavirus pandemic ECI has taken precautionary measures to ensure that all polling stations strictly follow COVID-19 safety protocols for the safety of voters and election officials Each polling station will be sanitised a day ahead of polling The facility of thermal scanning hand sanitisers face masks will also be made available at the polling stations the release said A total of 796456 electors including 393078 women and four third-gender persons are eligible to exercise their franchise There are also 3165 service voters 8864 electors above 80 years of age and 4 998 fall under the People with Disability PwD category Tamulpur has the highest number of voters at 217432 while Thowra has the lowest number of voters at 115971 voters To ensure an inclusive election the option of postal ballot facility has been extended to senior citizens above the age of 80 years PwDs COVID-19 suspect or affected persons in addition to people employed in essential services Arrangements like transport facilities for elderly people assistance to PwDs and senior citizens have also been made at the polling stations For the convenience of opting for transportation by registering online a mobile app-Divyaang Sarathi Nirvachan - has been developed for the PwD voters A total of 5410 polling personnel will be engaged the release said PTI ESB MM MM

Guwahati Oct 27 PTI The Election Commission has made arrangements for webcasting during the October 30 by-elections to five assembly seats in Assam to ensure free fair and safe polling an official said on Wednesday Webcasting will be conducted in all the 1135 polling stations he said By-elections to the Gossaigaon Bhabanipur Tamulpur Mariani and Thowra constituencies will be held on October 30 The counting of votes will be taken up on November 2 and the entire polling process will be over by November 5 Through webcasting the Election Commission officials will be able to monitor the polling process live he added Voting will take place from 7 am to 5 pm Personnel of the Central Armed Police Forces will also be deployed at each polling station as part of security measures the official was quoted as saying in a release By-polls to Gossaigaon and Tamulpur were necessitated due to the death of sitting MLAs while the incumbents of Bhabanipur Mariani and Thowra resigned from their seats to join the ruling BJP A total of 796456 voters are eligible to decide the fate of 31 candidates in the by-elections to the five assembly seats PTI ESB RBT BDC BDC