Guwahati, 19 April (HS): In the first phase of Lok Sabha elections in the northeastern states, voters were seen standing in long queues to vote till 6:00 pm on Friday. Barring a few isolated incidents, voting in these states was mostly peaceful.

According to the information given by the Election Commission, till 6:00 pm, the highest turnout among the North-Eastern states was in Assam at 70.77%. whereas, the lowest turnout was recorded in Mizoram at 53.96 percent.

Apart from these, 76.10 percent voting has been reported in Tripura, 68.62 percent in Manipur, 69.91 percent in Meghalaya, 64.07 percent in Arunachal Pradesh and 56.18 percent in Nagaland.

It is noteworthy that there was zero voting in 6 districts of Nagaland bordering Myanmar. Boycott of elections was announced by local organizations in these six districts. Due to non-voting, notices were issued by the Chief Electoral Officer against these organizations. At the same time, a case of firing at a booth in Manipur and forced voting at gunpoint at a polling booth in Manipur came to light. Overall, it can be said that the first phase of election in the North-Eastern states was conducted successfully.

Hindusthan Samachar / Sriprakash/Manoj