New Delhi, 09 April (H.S.):

Polling concluded across all seats in the Assam, Kerala, and Union Territory of Puducherry assembly elections on Thursday, remaining largely peaceful barring sporadic violence. According to Election Commission data up to 5 PM, voter turnout stood at 84.42% in Assam, 75.01% in Kerala, and a leading 86.92% in Puducherry.

Final figures are pending as voters queued before the deadline—7 AM starts, with polls closing at 5 PM in Assam and 6 PM in Kerala and Puducherry—will still cast ballots.

Turnout surged steadily: By 3 PM, Assam hit 75.91%, Kerala 62.71%, Puducherry 72.40%; at 1 PM, Assam led with 59.63%, followed by Puducherry's 56.83% and Kerala's 49.70%; 11 AM saw 38.92%, 33.28%, 37.06%; and 9 AM recorded 17.87%, 16.23%, 17.41% respectively.

Long queues from morning signaled robust democratic engagement.

Incidents marred Assam with at least 30 injuries and seven arrests, including a Patharkandi clash injuring 25 (two critically) between Congress and BJP supporters; Puducherry saw lathicharge in Mannadipet after similar clashes . Kerala stayed calm; ex-Defence Minister AK Antony voted in Thiruvananthapuram, while Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma prayed at Kamakhya Temple before voting with his wife in Jalukbari.

Robust security, including webcasting and drones in sensitive areas, ensured fair polls. Assam's 126 seats fielded 722 candidates (59 women) from 41 parties for 2.5 crore voters across 31,490 booths—post-2023 delimitation, BJP eyes retention against Congress comeback.

Kerala's 140 seats had 890 candidates for 2.71 crore voters in a triangular LDF (ruling, seeking fifth term), UDF, NDA contest .

Puducherry's 30 seats saw 294 candidates, ~9.5 lakh voters (24,919 first-timers) across 1,099 booths in four regions.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar