Over 8 per cent voter turnout in first two hours of Assam panchayat polls
Polling in the first phase is being held in the districts of Tinsukia, Dibrugarh, Charaideo, Sivasagar, Majuli, Jorhat, Golaghat, Dhemaji, Lakhimpur, Sonitpur, Biswanath, Cachar, Hailakandi and Sribhumi.
Voting began at 7:30 am and will continue till 4.30 pm in 14 districts of the state, and there was no report of any untoward incident so far, they said.
Guwahati, May 2 (PTI) An estimated 8.47 per cent electorate exercised their franchise in the first phase of panchayat polls in Assam during the initial two hours of polling on Friday, officials said.
Lakhimpur reported the highest polling at 14 per cent, while Dibrugarh recorded the lowest of 7 per cent. Reports from Majuli and Hailakandi were yet to come in, the officials said.
In the first phase, over 89.59 lakh people, including 44.66 lakh males and 44.93 females, are eligible to cast their votes at 12,916 polling booths.
There are 216 zilla parishads, 94 anchalik panchayats and 1,139 gaon panchayats in the first phase of the polls.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma urged voters to exercise their franchise to strengthen democracy at the grassroots.
'I urge every eligible voter to cast their votes in Phase 1 of the #AssamPanchayatPolls today. Your vote matters and will go a long way in strengthening democracy in the grassroots,' Sarma said in a post on X.
The second phase of the panchayat elections will be held on May 7 in the districts of Dhubri, South Salmara, Mankachar, Goalpara, Bongaigaon, Barpeta, Bajali, Nalbari, Kamrup, Kamrup(Metro), Hojai, Nagaon, Morigaon and Darrang.
Repoll, if any, for the first phase will be held on May 4 and for the second phase on May 9.
The counting of votes for both phases will take place on May 11.
A total of 348 zila parishad and anchalik parishad candidates have been already elected uncontested, as the ruling NDA established a lead with 325 seats, according to the Assam State Election Commission.
The NDA has secured 37 zila parishads (35 BJP and 2 AGP) and 288 anchalik panchayats (259 BJP and 29 AGP) seats unopposed, it said.
Independents have won 15 anchalik parishad seats, the Congress nine and the AIUDF one seat uncontested.
Panchayat polls are being held for the first time after the delimitation of constituencies in Assam.
Seven districts of the state are under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution, where autonomous council polls are held. PTI DG RBT
This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
India Today
41 minutes ago
- India Today
Why RSS invite to ex-Congress leader Arvind Netam stirred Chhattisgarh politics
Veteran tribal leader Arvind Netam, who served as a cabinet minister in the governments of Indira Gandhi and PV Narasimha Rao, has raised eyebrows in Chhattisgarh's political circles after he got an invitation from the RSS to be the chief guest of an 83, a former Congressman, will not only share the stage with RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat at the organisation's volunteer training camp, Karyakarta Vikas Varg-Dwithiya Samapan Samaroh, he will also speak at the closing ceremony, where he will highlight a host of significant tribal is hosting this event as it marks the end of the three-year training period for swayamsevaks. It's a deja vu for the Congress as late former President Pranab Mukherjee was also invited to the same event by the RSS in 2018, which was criticised by the party. Speaking to India Today TV, Netam said he was surprised to get an invitation from the RSS."I am surprised that RSS has invited me to a part of such a crucial event. But, I'm going to use this opportunity to highlight a bunch of tribal issues, as the RSS is a guiding force to the BJP and the party is in power in Chhattisgarh. Currently, despite having a tribal chief minister at the helm, there is a huge communication gap between the tribals and the government," he factions manage to work remotely in the tribal regions in the state. Though I'm not politically active currently, I'll raise the issues efficiently as I feel that to get the BJP's attention. This is the best I can do," he on the issues that he would be underlining, Netam said, "Religious conversion is the most important issue that I'm going to raise. It is rampantly taking place and needs immediate attention by the government. Unfortunately, my own community is sleeping over it and I'm going to seek the RSS's help as they keep consistently working on it across the nation.""Apart from that, industrialisation is also an important issue which the state government is not serious about and doesn't have the political will to resolve. Only the RSS can do something about it. It's dangerous how the PESA Act is being taken as a joke in the country, without consulting the tribals. Their lands are being given to industrialists. Only communication with the villagers can resolve this complex issue. For that, the central government must be on board which the RSS can only convey," he exited the Congress in 2023 after floating his own tribal front named Hamar Raj Party, which managed to dent the Congress's vote shares in a couple of assembly and parliamentary seats. However, the party said that if Netam joins the BJP, it will not hurt the grand old is certainly a huge tribal leader. But, tribal people are aware of the RSS's intentions. Netam will lose ground in Bastar if he joins the BJP," Congress spokesperson Sushil Shukla the other hand, the BJP feels that the RSS doesn't discriminate among people and believes in working for the welfare of the senior political analyst Sunil Kumar opined that the "Congress was not investing enough time on finding real issues and converting a non-issue into politics"."It is unfair on Netam that the Congress is attacking him despite Netam having no association with the party. The party shouldn't forget that Netam was also a part of the BJP. So, I consider this as a good move as one may be ideologically on different pages with the RSS. The robust organisation has lakhs of active members and it keeps working closely through their various frontal factions across the nation. He (Netam) will escalate various tribal issues efficiently," he Watch IN THIS STORY#Chhattisgarh#Indian National Congress#Bharatiya Janta Party
India Today
41 minutes ago
- India Today
Amit Shah's Kolkata huddle with Bengal BJP top brass sets tone for 2026 poll push
Union Home Minister Amit Shah's recent visit to Kolkata included a closely guarded meeting with senior BJP leaders, signalling a renewed push to wrest control of West Bengal in the 2026 assembly elections. According to sources, Shah held a closed-door session with Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari and BJP state president Sukanta meeting, lasting over two hours, was centred around fine-tuning the party's roadmap for the high-stakes 294-seat assembly battle, with 148 seats required for a simple majority, sources the meeting, Adhikari submitted a comprehensive report on the BJP's organisational standing across Bengal. Discussions revolved around vote share calculations and electoral arithmetic, with Adhikari reportedly informing Shah that the BJP trails the ruling Trinamool Congress by around 4-5 percent in over 150 seats, based on trends observed between the 2019 and 2024 Lok Sabha polls. With the BJP holding a steady 40 percent voter share statewide, Adhikari argued that a swing of just 3-4 percent could enable the party to outpace the TMC in these key constituencies and form the next government.A significant portion of the strategy focusses on strengthening booth-level organisation. West Bengal has close to 80,000 polling booths, of which 14,000 are Muslim-majority areas where the BJP does not currently plan to set up booth the party is concentrating efforts on building robust teams in approximately 57,000 other booths, despite concerns over what leaders describe as an "atmosphere of terror" in several regions, sources said. BJP leaders Bansal and Pandera have reportedly been assigned the task of enhancing their grassroots presence as part of this focused organisational from the political strategy session, Shah also addressed a gathering of around 150 saints at Swami Vivekananda's house, where he outlined a broader ideological framework for the BJP's Bengal he avoided naming specific nations, Shah reportedly spoke of the need for a distinctly Indian "national mindset," in contrast to neighbouring countries - a comment widely interpreted as a reference to Bangladesh. He emphasised that the party's Bengal strategy is not just political but also linked to national security behind-the-scenes meetings and the ideological outreach are seen by insiders as key components of the BJP's evolving campaign architecture aimed at consolidating its base and expanding its appeal across a politically charged Watch
Time of India
44 minutes ago
- Time of India
Shelar & Cong MP get into spat over Dharavi master plan
Mumbai: With Congress MP Varsha Gaikwad raising questions daily on the master plan approved by CM Devendra Fadnavis, BJP's Ashish Shelar, in reply, called Gaikwad for an "open discussion" on the Dharavi redevelopment project. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now He denied special benefits were given to the , lead developer for the project. In a social media post, Gaikwad said she was ready for discussion and asked him to "inform the time and place" but set one condition — "that it happen in presence of Dharavikars." Gaikwad asked how the master plan was being touted as implementation of the 2016 Dharavi Development Plan when the master plan was based on FSI and TDR policies decided in 2024. She accused govt of violating MRTP Act as the master plan was accepted by govt without inviting objections or suggestions. Shelar, in a post on social media, said there is a difference between master plan and development plan. "The master plan specifies how much land is needed for rehabilitation, where it will take place, and what physical and social infrastructure is required for redevelopment of Dharavi, along with the necessary land. When the development plan is presented by DRPA, suggestions and objections will be invited from citizens as per MRTP Act," he said.
