Polling for Assembly elections in Assam, Kerala and Puducherry, along with by-elections in four Assembly constituencies across three states, remained largely peaceful yesterday.
According to the Election Commission, Assam recorded a voter turnout of 85.38 percent, while Puducherry saw 89.83 percent, both the highest ever in their Assembly election history. In Kerala, polling stood at 78.03 percent.
In the by-elections, Karnataka’s Bagalkot seat registered 68.70 percent turnout, while Davanagere South recorded 68.55 percent. Koridang in Nagaland saw 82.21 percent voting, and Dharmanagar in Tripura recorded over 80 percent turnout.
Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, along with Election Commissioners Dr. S.S. Sandhu and Dr. Vivek Joshi, monitored the polling process through live webcasting, which was implemented at all polling stations in these regions for the first time.
Several voter-friendly measures were introduced, including colour photographs of candidates on EVM ballot papers, mobile deposit facilities, redesigned voter information slips, and a cap of 1,200 voters per polling station.
Puducherry Records Highest Ever Voter Turnout Of 89.87% In Assembly Elections
In Puducherry, an unprecedented voter turnout of 89.87 per cent was recorded in yesterday’s voting for the Assembly Elections. As per the final figures released by the Election Commission, it is the highest ever recorded polling percentage in the Union Territory since its merger with India and the first Assembly election held in 1964.
Nearly 13 thousand voters, including senior citizens, persons with disabilities, and government personnel engaged in election and essential services, exercised their franchise through postal ballots. Postal ballots have also been issued to 328 service voters, who can cast their votes till 8 a.m. on the counting day, May 4. With these, the overall turnout is expected to increase by around 1.36%, making the total polling percentage 91.23.
On the polling day, drone surveillance helped to detect instances of cash distribution to influence voters in the Villianur, Kalapet, Uzhavarkarai, Manavely, and Karaikal constituencies. The Election Commission seized over 1,18,000 rupees in connection with these violations.
