The second phase polling of Assam legislative Assembly elections passed off peacefully without any major troubles. However, there were reports of EVM glitches from some polling stations and upon their immediate replacement voting continued uninterrupted, an election official said.
According to election authority, the state recorded 67.60% polling till 5:10 pm. The electoral exercise was conducted following strict security and Covid-19 guidelines, where the fate of 345 candidates, including 26 women, in 39 Assembly constituencies was locked in EVMs.
Most constituencies in this phase witnessed straight battle between the BJP-led alliance and the Opposition Congressled Mohajoat (grand alliance). For the ruling alliance, state ministers Parimal Suklabaidya, Bhabesh Kalita, Pijush Hazarika, Assembly deputy speaker Aminul Haque Laskar, saffron legislators Numal Momin, Rupak Sarma, Mihir Kanti Shome, etc were seeking re – elections from their respective constituencies.
BJP nominees Jayanta Malla Barua, Gautam Roy, UPPL nominees Biswajit Daimary, Gobinda Chandra Basumatary etc were also in the fray. For the grand alliance, Congress leaders Siddique Ahmed, Kamalakhya Dey Purkayastha, Sum Ronghang, Santanu Sarma, Swapan Kumar Mandal, Ajit Singh, Nirmal Langthasa etc along with Bodoland People’s Front leader Rihon Daimary, Karuna Kanta Swargiary, All India United Democratic Front leaders Sirajuddin Ajmal, Nijamuddin Choudhury etc were seeking voters’ mandates.
Long queues were seen outside most of the 10,592 polling stations across the 13 districts in the Barak Valley, the Hill region and parts of Central and Lower Assam since early morning.
A significant number of women voters were seen turning up early for exercising their franchise.
At most places, voters were found wearing masks and maintaining social distance as they stood inside the rings drawn at six feet distance outside the polling stations.
Besides, they were examined with thermal scanners for body temperature, provided with sanitisers and disposable plastic gloves before they went into the polling booth to cast their vote.
E-rickshaw was made available to ferry senior citizens in the Cachar district, and they were also felicitated for their will to vote.
Wheelchairs were also provided at all the election centres with volunteers navigating the old and disabled to their polling booths. Resting areas were also created for the senior citizens to wait for their turn to vote.
Several polling stations in Cachar were decked up, showcasing the cultural legacy of the district through the display of handicrafts and handlooms.