71 per cent voters exercise franchise in Assam's Bodoland Territorial Council polls

Guwahati, Sep 22 (PTI) Around 70.96 per cent of voters exercised their franchise till 4.30 pm on Monday in the elections to the 40-member Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC), which will decide the fate of 316 candidates, officials said.

The final turnout figure is awaited as people who entered polling booths before the 4 pm deadline were allowed to cast their votes, they said.

There were no reports of any untoward incident from any of the five districts of Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR).

BTC chief Pramod Boro exercised his franchise at Goibari in Tamulpur district, while BPF president Hagrama Mohilary cast his vote at Debargaon Higher Secondary school in Kokrajhar.

Polls are being held amid tight security, though no violence took place in the run-up to the elections.

The total number of voters in the five districts of Kokrajhar, Baksa, Chirang, Udalguri and Tamulpur is 26,58,153, comprising 13,23,536 males, 13,34,600 females and 17 people of other genders. There are a total of 3,359 polling stations, officials said.

The BJP is contesting the council polls independently for the first time, while candidates from the ruling United People's Party Liberal (UPPL), led by present BTC chief Pramod Boro, and the Bodoland People's Front (BPF), led by former BTC Chief Hagrama Mohilary, are also in the fray.

Repoll, if any, will be held on September 24. Counting of votes will be held on September 26, and the entire election process will be completed by September 28.

Among the 40 seats in the BTC, 30 seats are reserved for Scheduled Tribe (ST) candidates, five for non-STs and the remaining five are open to both ST and non-ST candidates.

A public holiday was declared on Monday in all the five districts where polls were held.

This is the second council polls after a fresh Bodo Accord was signed in New Delhi on January 27, 2020. PTI DG DG MNB