Voting begins on brisk note in Nagaland and Meghalaya assembly polls

Voting in the state assembly elections in Nagaland and Meghalaya began at 7 am this morning amid tight security.

The single-phase Nagaland Assembly polls in 59 constituencies will decide the fate of 183 candidates of various parties in the voting which will continue till 4 pm today.

People were seen thronging polling stations to cast their votes early in the morning. The state had witnessed nearly 75 per cent voter turnout in the 2018 Assembly polls and 90.57 per cent in 2013.

The voting for the 60 Meghalaya Assembly constituencies will also continue till 4 pm.

As many as of these 36 constituencies fall in Khasi, Jaintia Hills region while 24 are in Garo Hills region.

There are over 21 lakh voters in the state of which 10.99 lakh are women and 10.68 lakh are male voters.

In Meghalaya, the number of women voters exceed their male counterparts. There are about 81,000 first-time voters in the state.

As many as 369 candidates are in the fray of which 36 are women.

Of the total 3,419 polling stations, 120 are all women-managed polling stations, 60 are model polling stations and another 60 are PWD polling stations.

The Election Commission has deployed 119 companies of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) in Meghalaya.

Chief Electoral Officer, Meghalaya FR Kharkongor said 640 polling stations are identified as ‘vulnerable’, 323 are ‘critical’ and 84 are identified as both.

The poll panel on Saturday ordered the sealing of Meghalaya’s International border with Bangladesh till March 2.

Meghalaya shares a 443 km border with Bangladesh and 885 km with Assam.

The counting of votes will take place on March 2.

The high-voltage poll campaign in the two states had concluded on Saturday. The country’s top leadership including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah had canvassed for party candidates during the last leg of the campaigning.