An estimated 12.86 per cent of the total 7.96 lakh electors exercised their franchise till 9 am on Saturday for bypolls to five assembly constituencies in Assam where voting is underway with strict adherence to Covid-19 protocols, an official said.
The polling has been peaceful so far, and long queues were seen outside polling booths with voters and election officials adhering to Covid-19 protocols, he said.
Voting began at 7 am in 1,176 polling stations in Gossaigaon, Bhabanipur, Tamulpur, Mariani and Thowra constituencies.
Altogether 31 candidates are in the fray, the Election Commission official said. In the backdrop of the pandemic, polling stations were sanitised and health safety protocols are strictly followed, he said.
By-elections to Gossaigaon and Tamulpur were necessitated due to death of the sitting MLAs, while the incumbents of Bhabanipur, Mariani and Thowra resigned from their seats to join the ruling BJP.
Polling will continue till 5 pm in these assembly segments.
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