Assam CM casts his vote in Guwahati along with family

Guwahati (Assam) [India], April 9 : Asaam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday cast his vote in the ongoing polling for the 126-seat state assembly elections.

Sarma, who is the NDA candidate from Jalukbari, cast his vote at the polling station number 15. He was accompanied by his wife Riniki Bhuyan Sharma and children.

Speaking to ANI, CM Sarma's wife said, "It is a 100% sweep."

Before casting his vote, CM Sarma also worshipped at the Kamakhya temple in Guwahati, along with his wife Riniki Bhuyan Sharma.

Jalukbari has been under the stronghold of Himanta Biswa Sarma for nearly 25 years. Representing the seat since 2001 after defeating Asom Gana Parishad leader Bhrigu Kumar Phukan, Sarma has built a formidable base here.

In the 2021 Assam Assembly elections, Chief Minister Sarma won with 1,30,762 votes, securing 78.4 per cent of the total votes. He defeated Congress candidate Romen Chandra Borthakur, who received 28,851 votes (17.3 per cent). Independent candidates Hemanta Kumar Sut, Naba Kumar Nath and Moinul Hoque got 4,838, 1,218, and 1,141 votes, respectively. Sarma's victory margin stood at 1,01,911 votes.

Earlier in the day, Sarma urged voters to come out in numbers and cast their vote, while emphasising the importance of "each vote and voice" towards building "better Assam."

The response comes in the backdrop of single-phase polling, which began in Assam earlier in the day, across 126 constituencies.

"Today, Assam votes and each voice matters, each vote matters in the path of building a better Assam. On the occasion of this festival of democracy, I urge everyone to come out and vote in large numbers to strengthen democracy and take Assam to new heights," Sarna wrote on 'X'.

Meanwhile, voter turnout at 01:30 pm on Thursday in Assam was recorded at 59.6 per cent, as per the Election Commission of India.

Voters queued outside polling stations to cast their votes in a single-phase assembly election.

In Assam, more than 2.5 crore electors are eligible to exercise their franchise for the 126-member legislative assembly. There are 722 candidates in the fray.

Of 2,50,54,463 electors, 1,25,31,552 are male voters and 1,25,22,593 females. There are 318 voters in the Transgender category and 63,423 service voters.

Among the electorate, 6,42,314 voters are in the age group of 18-19 years, 2,50,006 are above 80 years of age, and 2,05,085 are persons with disabilities.

To strengthen the monitoring mechanism, webcasting facilities have been arranged in accordance with the Commission's directions, a release said.

Webcasting has been enabled in all 31,490 polling stations, including 31,486 main polling stations and 4 auxiliary polling stations. A total of 1,51,132 polling personnel have been deployed for the conduct of the election.

For polling purposes, 41,320 Ballot Units, 43,975 Control Units, and 43,997 VVPAT machines have been arranged, including reserves for emergency use. Additional polling personnel have also been kept in readiness, if required.

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