Assam records 72.14% voter turnout till 6 pm in phase 1 polls

19:35 March 27

Assam records 72.46 per cent voter turnout in first phase of Assembly polls

Polling for 47 seats in the first phase of Assembly elections ended with a voter turnout of 72.46 per cent recorded as of 6.52 pm, according to the Election Commission. Rupohihat constituency witnessed the highest voting percentage at 83 per cent while the Sootea constituency saw the lowest voting percentage at 64 per cent, according to the latest trends. Bokakhat district reported the highest voter turnout at 80 per cent while Nazira reported the lowest voter turnout at 64 per cent.  

19:01 March 27

72.14 per cent voters have cast their ballots till 5 pm

72.14per cent voters have cast their ballots till 5 pm

Around 72.14 % per cent of voters have cast their votes till 6 pm on Saturday in the first phase of the Assam Assembly polls. 

17:27 March 27

71.62 per cent voters have cast their ballots till 5 pm

71.62per cent voters have cast their ballots till 5 pm

Around 71.62 % per cent of voters have cast their votes till 5 pm on Saturday in the first phase of the Assam Assembly polls. 

16:49 March 27

62.36 per cent voters have cast their ballots till 4 pm

62.36 per cent voters have cast their ballots till 4 pm

Around 62.36% per cent voters have cast their votes till 4 pm on Saturday in the first phase of the Assam Assembly polls. 

15:10 March 27

61.86 per cent voters have cast their ballots till 3 pm

61.86 per cent voters have cast their ballots till 3 pm

Around 61.86 per cent voters have cast their votes till 3 pm on Saturday in the first phase of the Assam Assembly polls. The voting in the 47 constituencies is held under heavy security, election officials said.

14:56 March 27

Miscreants vandalise vehicles of polling officers in Chamaguri

While voting for the first phase of the Assam assembly election is going on, an incident of election-related conflict has come to light in a polling station at Chamaguri in the Nagaon assembly district. 

As per the report, a 45-year-old man, Abul Ahmed left injured in the conflict that occurred between the supporters of BJP and Congress. The alleged incident occurred at the 58 number polling station in Chamaguri. The BJP workers have accused congress workers of rigging.

In a similar incident, some unidentified miscreants have vandalised the vehicle of an election officer in a polling station at Bajiyagaon in Chamaguri. Following which the election officer ran away from the polling station.

13:53 March 27

Assam Congress President Ripun Bora casts his vote at a polling booth in Gohpur. 

13:30 March 27

Voter turnout at 1 pm

Assam records 44.52 per cent turnout till 1 pm in first phase of Assembly polls

12:04 March 27

Congress & other parties are only seen in the media but BJP & its allies are the ones on the ground. People of Assam now know that CAA-NRC will not affect them. My aim is to make the BJP government in the State again: Assam CM Sarbananda Sonowal

11:59 March 27

Congress' Rockybul Hussain casts vote

Congress' Rockybul Hussain casts vote at polling booth in Amoni.  

Rockybul Hussain has been fielded as Congress candidate from Samaguri constituency.

11:24 March 27

Assam records 25.78 per cent turnout till 11 am in first phase of Assembly polls

Voter turnout at 11 am

Voter turnout of 25.78 per cent till 11 am was recorded as the polling is underway across 47 assembly constituencies in the first phase of the state assembly elections, according to the Election Commission of India. The Sivasagar constituency in the state has witnessed the highest voting percentage till now with a 28.38 per cent turnout. 

The polling began at 7 am today will continue till 6 pm.

11:19 March 27

Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi casts his vote

Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi casts his vote at a polling booth in Jorhat in the first phase of the Assam Assembly Elections 2021.

11:17 March 27

Assam CM Sarbananda Sonowal casts his vote

Assam CM Sarbananda Sonowal casts his vote a polling centre in Dibrugarh.

"We will get more than 100 seats," CM says.

11:13 March 27

Assam CM Sarbananda Sonowal offers prayers at Boga Baba Mazaar at Dibrugarh

Assam CM Sarbananda Sonowal offers prayers at Boga Baba Mazaar at Dibrugarh.

"I prayed for peace for all and victory for Bharatiya Janata Party," says CM.

11:12 March 27

BJP candidate Angurlata Deka arrives to cast vote

10:14 March 27

Voter turnout at 9am

The first two hours of polling recorded 10.21% percent of polling in Assam where the first phase of polling for 47 constituencies are underway.

Polling started on a peaceful note on Saturday across the 47 constituencies which went to polls today as part of the first phase in Assam.

The polling started at 7 am but long queues were seen in front of the polling stations across the constituencies since morning today.

Leader of Opposition in the Assam Legislative assembly Debabrata Saikia cast his vote at Nazira while BJP legislator from Khumtai Mrinal Saikia also exercised his democratic franchise at Golaghat.  

Over 80 lakh electorates will seal the fate of 264 candidates in the first phase of polling for 47 constituencies on Saturday.

A total of 81,09,815 voters including 40,32,841 women voters will exercise their voting rights in over 11,570 polling centres located across 12 districts of the state during the first phase.

39 constituencies are going to polls during the second phase on April 1 and 40 constituencies are going to polls in the third phase on April 6.

09:27 March 27

10.21% voter turnout recorded till 9 am, in the first phase of polling in Assam: Election Commission of India

09:12 March 27

Temperature of voters being checked, arrangement of masks, gloves, and hand sanitiser made at a primary school - designated as a polling booth - in Lahowal Assembly constituency of Dibrugarh.

08:12 March 27

Voters follow physical distancing at polling station set up at Kamala Bari Junior Basic School, Majuli.

07:40 March 27

A long queue of voters at a polling centre in Rupahi, Nagaon District.

07:37 March 27

Voters waiting in a queue in Dibrugarh

Voters waiting in a queue at a polling station in JP Nagar, Dibrugarh, as polling gets underway for the first phase of Assembly elections.

06:20 March 27

LIVE PAGE- ASSAM POLLS

Dispur (Assam): The stakes for Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its ally Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) are high in Assam where 47 seats of 126 Assembly constituencies across 34 districts will go for polling to the first of the three-phase elections on Saturday. 

Polling will be held in 47 constituencies across 12 districts in Assam where the ruling BJP and Congress-AIUDF alliance are locked in a direct electoral contest. In the first phase, a total of 264 candidates are in the fray on the 47 seats -- 42 from 11 districts of the Upper and northern region of the state and five seats from central Assam's Nagaon district. 

The ruling BJP, who had wrestled power from the Congress in 2016 after a 15-year rule, is seeking a second term with the help of the AGP and the United People's Party Liberal (UPPL). 

The Congress-led United People's Alliance (UPA) 'Mahajath' and United Regional Front (URF) led by activist Akhil Gogoi's Raijor Dal have posed as formidable opponents. Over the last few days, several bigwigs and national leaders of the BJP, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, national party president JP Nadda, and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, visited the state to campaign for the party. 

In his rallies, Prime Minister Modi hit out at the Congress' 15-year rule and lauding the Sarbananda Sonowal government for developmental work in the last five years. Several political heavyweights are in the fray in the first phase. Sonowal is seeking re-election from Majuli, a seat he wrested from Congress' Rajib Lochan Pegu in the 2016 Assembly elections. Pegu, who had won the seat for three straight terms since 2001, has again been fielded by Congress. 

Assam Assembly Speaker Hitendra Nath Goswami is in the poll battle from Jorhat, ministers Ranjit Dutta from Behali, Naba Kumar Doley from Jonai and Sanjoy Kishan from Tinsukia.

Popular leader Hemanta Biswa Sarma, who switched from the Congress ahead of the last elections, is contesting from Jalukbari. 

Congress has fielded Jyoti Baruah in party stronghold Titabar, a seat held by former chief minister Tarun Gogoi till his death on November 23, 2020. BJP candidate Hemanta Kalita will contest against Baruah. 

Lurinjyoti Gogoi, president of newly-floated regional political party Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP) will contest from two seats-- Duliajan and Naharkatia which will go to polls in the first phase. The fate of jailed anti-CAA activist and Raijor Dal chief Akhil Gogoi from Sibsagar will be decided in the first phase. Gogoi, a peasant leader, is in jail since December 2019 in connection with a National Investigation Agency (NIA) case for his role in the anti-CAA protests in Assam. He was arrested under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). 

As Raijor Dal had reportedly failed to register with the election commission as a political party, all the Raijor Dal candidates will contest the polls as independent candidates. AJP and Raijor Dal are contesting the polls in an alliance. 

The BJP's manifesto highlights 10 key agendas - providing three lakh jobs to the youth, Rs 2.5 lakh financial support to namgarhs, 'correct' National Register of Citizens, the removal of illegal encroachments, protection of Assam's political rights by speeding up the delimitation process and support for landless people through 'patta' system. "Mahajath" which include Congress, the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF), led by Badruddin Ajmal, Communist Party of India, the Communist Party of India (Marxist), the Communist Party of India (Marxist Leninist) Liberation, the Anchalik Gana Marcha (AGM) and the Bodoland Peoples' Front (BPF) was formed to oust the BJP government. 

The Congress' 'People's manifesto', which was released by Rahul Gandhi, promised to defend the "idea of the state of Assam" through 'five guarantees' - five lakh government jobs, monthly income of Rs 2,000 to housewives and 200 units of free electricity, the daily wage of Rs 365 for tea garden workers, and no implementation of the CAA. 

In 2016, the BJP scripted history and formed the government for the first time in the state ending Congress's 15-year rule. The BJP and its allies - AGP and Bodoland People's Front (BPF), won a combined 86 seats in the 126-member Assam Assembly. BJP bagged 60 seats, AGP 14 and BPF 12 seats. The Congress, which ran the state for three straight terms under the leadership of Tarun Gogoi, could manage to win only 26 seats. 

The second phase will take place on April 1 in 39 constituencies in 13 districts while 40 Assembly constituencies in 12 districts to go on polls on April 6. Counting of votes will take place on May 2. 

ANI