BeyondHeadlines Special Correspondent
Guwahati, Assam: Twelve percent of the electorate cast their votes in the first two hours of polling in 62 Assembly constituencies of Assam on Monday. Election office sources said polling began peacefully on a brisk note at 7:00 AM with long queues of voters before polling booths.
There were reports of EVMs malfunctioning in some constituencies which were immediately replaced and voting continued uninterrupted, the sources said. With the weather improving after the first two hours, polling was expected to pick up, the sources said.
Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi, senior ministers Pradyut Bordoloi, Ajanta Neog, Prithivi Majhi, Gautam Roy and Bharat Chandra Narah are among the 485 candidates in 62 of the 126 Assembly constituencies going to polls in the first phase. BJP state president Ranjit Dutta, former AGP president Brindaban Goswami and CPI National Council member Promode Gogoi are also contesting.
The second phase of voting will take place on April 11.
