Guwahati Oct 30 PTI An estimated 7338 per cent of 796 lakh electors voted in bye-elections to five Assembly constituencies in Assam on Saturday which remained peaceful an official saidPolling was conducted with strict adherence to COVID-19 protocols in Gossaigaon Bhabanipur Tamulpur Mariani and Thowra seats As of now the poll percentage has been estimated at 7338 per cent for the five constituencies a senior official of the Election Department said The percentage of polling which took place from 7 am to 5 pm is likely to increase a bit after the final compilation on Sunday The Bhabanipur seat recorded the highest voter turnout of 78 per cent followed by Gossaigaon 7737 per cent Thowra 7507 per cent and Mariani 6981 per cent and Tamulpur 6788 per cent official data showedA senior police official said no untoward incident was reported from any of the constituencies where a tight security cover was in placePersonnel of Central Armed Police Forces CAPF have been deployed at each polling station while webcasting was done in all the 1176 polling stations for monitoring the voting process liveAltogether 31 candidates are in the fray of whom eight each are in Gossaigaon and Bhabanipur six in Tamulpur five in Thowra and four in MarianiThe five seats fell vacant due to resignations and deaths of legislatorsThe ruling BJP has fielded its candidates in three seats leaving the other two to alliance partner UPPL The Congress put up nominees in all five while its former allies the AIUDF and the BPF are contesting in two and one seats respectively The prominent contestants include Rupjyoti Kurmi Sushanta Borgohain Phanidhar Talukdar all BJP Luhit Konwar and Jowel Tudu both Congress Jubbar Ali and Khairul Anam Khandakar both AIUDF and Jiron Basumatary of the UPPLCounting will be held on November 2 The poll results however will not affect the composition of the government A statement from the Office of the Chief Electoral Officer CEO said EVM glitches were reported from a few polling stations in each constituency and arrangements were made immediately to rectify themWhile the first voter to cast the ballot was welcome with a traditional scarf in some polling stations senior citizens and people with disability were helped by volunteers to enter booths on wheelchairsIn the backdrop of the coronavirus pandemic the EC has taken measures to ensure that all polling stations strictly follow Covid-19 protocols for the safety of voters and election officials The facilities of thermal scanning hand sanitiser face masks were made available at the polling stations Many of the polling stations were decorated with colourful balloons They also had selfie stands play areas for children accompanying mothers besides resting places for elderly and PwD electors All-women-managed and model polling stations were also set up in some constituencies the Election Department official said In the run-up to the election the authorities have seized cash liquor and drugs valued at Rs 171 crore from various places of the constituencies the statement from the CEO Office said PTI TR ESB SSG NN NN

Guwahati Oct 27 PTI Campaigning ended on Wednesday in the five assembly constituencies of Assam where by-elections will be held on October 30The by-polls will be conducted in Gossaigaon Bhabanipur Tamulpur Mariani and Thowra seats Campaigning came to end at 5 pmThe ruling BJP has fielded its candidates in three seats leaving the other two to alliance partner UPPL The Congress put up nominees in all the five while its former allies the AIUDF and the BPF are contesting in two and one seats respectivelyAssam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma his predecessor and Union minister Sarbananda Sonowal canvassed for BJP and UPPL candidates Senior leaders of the Congress including national general secretary Jitendra Singh and state president Bhupen Bora campaigned for their respective nomineesAltogether 31 contestants are in the fray in the five seats Their electoral fate will be decided by 796 lakh voters Voting will take place from 7 am to 5 pm while counting will be held on November 2The poll results however will not affect the composition of the government The prominent contestants include Rupjyoti Kurmi Sushanta Borgohain Phanidhar Talukdar all BJP Luhit Konwar and Jowel Tudu both Congress Jubbar Ali and Khairul Anam Khandakar both AIUDF and Jiron Basumatary of the UPPL In the 126-seat House the ruling BJP has 59 MLAs its allies AGP and UPPL nine and five MLAs each respectively The opposition Congress has 27 AIUDF 15 BPF three and CPIM one MLA besides an Independent legislatorBy-polls in 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 Gossaigaon seat was won by the Bodo Peoples Front BPF in the March-April Assembly election while the United Peoples Party Liberal UPPL had bagged Tamulpur Mariani and Thowra had Congress MLAs while Bhabanipur was cornered by AIUDF PTI ESB TR SSG NN NN