Over 70 per cent voter turnout was recorded in Mizoram and Chhattisgarh where Assembly polls were held on Tuesday, officials said.

According to the Election Commission’s data at 5 pm, 77.04 per cent of voters exercised their franchise in the northeastern state, while Chhattisgarh saw 70.87 per cent voting in its first phase of the Assembly elections.

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Mizoram went to polls for all the 40 assembly seats in the state on Tuesday. The elections in Mizoram and first phase polling in Chhattisgarh heralded the start of the voting process in this round of assembly polls with three other states – Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Telangana slated to go to the polls later this month.

Several constituencies in Mizoram recorded high polling percentages.

According to poll data till 5 pm, Serchhip seat reported a voter turnout of 83.96 per cent, Mamit 83.42 per cent, Hnahthial 82.62 per cent, Khawazawl 82.39 per cent and Kolasib 80.13 per cent.

The polling commenced at 7 am in the northeastern state and ended at 4 pm.

Chief Minister Zoramthanga, who is chief of the Mizo National Front (MNF), is seeking re-election from Aizawl East – I. Zoram People’s Movement (ZPM) chief Lalduhoma, a former IPS officer, who is also the party’s chief ministerial candidate, is in the fray from Serchhip.

In the 2018 assembly elections, the MNF secured 26 seats with a vote share of 37.8 per cent and ousted Congress from power.

The MNF, Indian National Congress, and the Zoram People’s Movement have fielded candidates for all 40 seats and BJP has fielded 23 candidates.

In Chhattisgarh, voting took place for 20 seats in the first phase on Tuesday.

The poll panel data at 5 pm showed Khairagarh-Chhuyikhadangandayi assembly constituency in Chhattisgarh recorded the highest voter turnout of 76.31 per cent in the state. It was closely followed by Mohla-Manpur-Ambagarh Chouki at 76 per cent. The lowest polling was recorded in Bijapur at 40.98 pc. It was 75.51 per cent in Uttar Bastar Kanker, 75.35 per cent in Kondagaon, 75.1 per cent in Rajnandgaon and 72.41 per cent in Bastar (Jagdalpur).

The polling started at 7 am for ten seats – Mohla-Manpur, Antagarh, Bhanupratappur, Kanker, Keshkal, Kondagaon, Narayanpur, Dantewada, Bijapur and Konta.

Voting for the remaining assembly constituencies – Pandaria, Kawardha, Khairagarh, Dongargarh, Rajnandgaon, Dongargaon, Khujji, Bastar, Jagdalpur, and Chitrakote began at 8 am.

The polling will decide the electoral fate of former Chief Minister Raman Singh and BJP leaders Bhawna Bohra, Lata Usendi, and Gautam Uike.

The prominent Congress leaders in the fray in this phase include Mohammad Akbar, Savitri Manoj Mandavi, Mohan Markam, Vikram Mandavi, and Kawasi Lakhma.

A total of 223 candidates, including 25 women, are in the fray in the first phase of Chhattisgarh polls. The Election Commission set up 5,304 polling booths for this phase in the state.