Assam by-polls: 72.96 per cent polling in 5 assembly seats till 5 pm

An estimated 72.96 per cent of the 9.1 lakh electorate exercised their franchise till 5 pm in the by-polls to the five Assam assembly constituencies in Assam amid minor incidents of violence on Wednesday, officials said.
    
Bypolls are taking place in Dholai (SC), Sidli (ST), Bongaigaon, Behali and Samaguri assembly constituencies as these fell vacant following the election of the sitting MLAs to the Lok Sabha earlier this year.
    
Samaguri, which witnessed several incidents of pre-poll violence, recorded the highest polling percentage of 78.10 followed by 73.50 in Behali, 72.40 in Dholai, 71.50 in Sidli and 69.08 in Bongaigaon.
    
Polling ended at 5 pm but those voters who had entered the polling booths will be allowed to cast their votes and the final poll percentage was likely to be available later tonight or on Thursday.

According to the Election Commission, approximately 72.96 per cent of the 9,09,057 general electors, including 4,54,963 women and 19 belonging to the third gender, have exercised their franchise so far to decide the fate of 34 candidates.
    
There are also 2,617 service voters in these five constituencies, where polling is taking place according to pre-delimitation data, an official said.
    
Polling has been by and large peaceful with ''minor incidents of violence'' reported.
    
He, however, said there were reports of "minor violence" in some places of Samaguri and Behali, but those took place on roads or areas away from the polling stations, where voting is going on unaffected.

Also Read: Assam bypolls: Tensions erupt in Samaguri as Rakibul Hussain's convoy attacked, journalist's vehicle damaged
    
A police officer said a complaint was received from Congress MP Rakibul Hussain, whose son Tanzil is a candidate in Samaguri, that a gang of miscreants went to his residence and threatened them with dire consequences.
    
"I will quit politics if BJP will attack me and my family like this. I have already sent a message to CM Himanta Biswa Sarma urging him to stop such threats," the MP told reporters after casting his vote.
    
An SUV with a press sticker that was following Hussain's convoy to one of the polling stations, was attacked by miscreants who smashed the window panes.
    
Reports of arguments and scuffles have surfaced from several polling stations in Samaguri, but officials claimed that voting was uninterrupted.
    
Congress also alleged that its workers were threatened by BJP MP Ranjit Dutta at Behali. The MP, however, denied the allegations.
    
There were reports of malfunctioning of EVMs in some booths during the mock polling but those machines were immediately replaced.
    
Most of the contesting candidates exercised their franchise in their respective booths during the first two hours of polling.
    
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma appealed to the people of Behali, Samaguri, Dholai, Bongaigaon and Sidli to come out and actively take part in the bypolls.
    
Around 9,000 polling personnel have been engaged to have a smooth election across 1,078 polling stations in the five seats.
    
A total of 15 companies of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF), comprising about 1,500 personnel, have been deployed in all the polling stations, supported by Assam Police.