Assam panchayat elections 56.71 per cent polling in phase 2

Guwahati, May 7 (PTI) An estimated 56.71 per cent of the 91.31 lakh voters exercised their franchise in the second and final phase of the panchayat polls in Assam on Wednesday, election officials said.
    Voting began at 7:30 am and ended at 4.30 pm in 13 districts of the state, but those who had entered the booths at the end of the polling time will be allowed to vote.
    The final polling percentage is likely to come late on Wednesday night or the next day, but 56.71 per cent of the electorate had exercised their franchise till 3:30 pm, the officials said.
    In the second phase, polling was held at Dhubri, South Salmara-Mankachar, Goalpara, Bongaigaon, Barpeta, Bajali, Nalbari, Kamrup, Kamrup (Metro), Hojai, Nagaon, Morigaon and Darrang districts.
    Bongaigaon district recorded the highest polling at 62.72 per cent, while the lowest was reported from Kamrup at 51.33 per cent.
    Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma cast his vote at the Amingaon Bengali Higher Secondary School in his Jalukbari constituency of Kamrup district in the afternoon.
    “Voted for a prosperous future for rural Assam,” he said after exercising his franchise.
    Repoll for the second phase, if any, will be held on May 9, officials said.
Votes would be counted for both phases on May 11.
The total number of voters for the second phase is 91,31,127, comprising 46,30,924 men, 44,99,952 women and 251 others.
The number of Zila Parishad (ZP) constituencies is 181, Anchalik Parishads (AP) seats 87 and Gaon Panchayat (GP) 10,530.
As many as 1,289 candidates have won uncontested – 21 ZP members, 151 AP members and 1,117 GP ward members.
A total of 29,608 candidates are in fray for the second phase.
In the first phase, 70.19 per cent of the electorate exercised their franchise in 14 districts of Tinsukia, Dibrugarh, Charaideo, Sivasagar, Majuli, Jorhat, Golaghat, Dhemaji, Lakhimpur, Sonitpur, Biswanath, Cachar, Hailakandi and Sribhumi.
Panchayat polls were 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.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)