Guwahati: After the peaceful polling for 80 civic bodies across Assam was completed on Sunday with tight security amidst the strict Covid-19 guidelines, the stage is set for counting of voters on Wednesday. For the first time in municipal elections of the State, the electronic voting machines (EVMs) were used, where the electorates recorded over 70% turnout in polling.
Altogether 2,532 candidates were in the fray who had tried their luck in 977 wards across 24 districts of the State with 16,73,899 eligible voters (8.32 lakh men, 8.41 lakh women, 17 transgenders) for rural body polls. The ruling Bhartiya Janata Party nominated 825 candidates, followed by the Congress (706), Asom Gana Parishad (243), CPM (14), etc. In over 55 wards, the candidates were already declared winners.
Senior saffron leader and State chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma earlier urged every eligible voter to exercise their franchises, saying that municipal elections are an important step towards ensuring public participation in governance of urban areas. “I urge everyone to exercise their democratic right for determining their future,” twitted CM Sarma.
Union minister Sarbananda Sonowal, who is the resident of Dibrugarh in eastern Assam, participated in the exercise. The immediate past State chief minister too urged people to exercise their right to vote for the progress of their respective municipal area. Sonowal expressed confidence that the BJP and its political allies as usual would perform very well in the civic polls.
Assam civic body polls conclude, result on Wednesday
