9% voters exercise franchise till 9 am in Arunachal Pradesh

Itanagar: An estimated nine per cent of the total 8,92,694 voters cast their votes till 9 am on Friday in Arunachal Pradesh where polling for two Lok Sabha seats and 50 assembly constituencies is underway, officials said.

The ruling BJP has already won ten seats in the 60-member assembly unopposed.

In the Arunachal West parliamentary seat, eight candidates, including Union Earth Sciences Minister Kiren Rijiju and state Congress president Nabam Tuki, are in the fray.

Sitting BJP MP Tapir Gao and state Congress vice president Bosiram Siram are among the six candidates who are contesting from the Arunachal East.

Despite early morning showers, long queues were seen outside polling stations in the northeastern state.

According to reports from various districts, the polling remained peaceful so far without any incidents of violence, Joint Chief Electoral Officer Liken Koyu said.