Voting for the first phase of the panchayat elections in Assam began on Friday across 14 districts, with long queues of enthusiastic voters seen at several polling stations in the morning.
Polling is being held in Sonitpur, Biswanath, Dhemaji, Lakhimpur, Tinsukia, Dibrugarh, Sivasagar, Charaideo, Jorhat, Majuli, Golaghat, Cachar, Hailakandi, and Sribhumi districts.
The Assam State Election Commission has made elaborate arrangements to ensure free and fair elections. Security personnel have been deployed at all polling stations, and over 1.20 lakh polling officials are on duty to facilitate the process.
In total, more than 1.80 crore voters are eligible to cast their votes in the two-phase elections. This includes 90.71 lakh male voters, 89.65 lakh female voters, and 408 voters from the third gender, across 25,007 polling stations.
The second phase of voting is scheduled to be held on May 7 in the remaining 13 districts, and counting of votes will take place on May 11.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has already secured a significant lead ahead of the polls, winning 37 Zila Parishad seats unopposed (35 by BJP and 2 by Asom Gana Parishad – AGP), along with 288 Anchalik Panchayat seats (259 BJP, 29 AGP).
On April 18, expressed confidence in the NDA’s performance, calling the unopposed victories a “massive and unprecedented mandate.” He said the results reflect the “immense trust and overwhelming love” the people of Assam have for the NDA and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“We are confident that when the final results are declared, this tally will grow even more impressive. The NDA is all set to sweep the Panchayat elections in Assam,” the Chief Minister stated on social media platform X.
(With ANI inputs)
