Over 80% polling in 1st phase in Manipur

Over 80 per cent polling was recorded in the first phase of elections to the Manipur Assembly on Saturday.

Voting in the 38 constituencies, which went to polls on the day, came to a close at 3 pm, as per the Election Commission (EC) schedule. The commission said the polling was by and large peaceful, except one incident, in which a candidate, Erenedo, of the People's Resurgence and Justice Alliance, was allegedly assaulted by some persons. "My ear is damaged and I have pain in the chest...will lodge a complaint against the miscreants," he said.

Although the preliminary reports at 3 pm put the polling figure at 80 per cent, the commission officials said the final figure could be a little higher.

"There were some technical problems in the EVMs, so the polling started a few hours late at some polling stations. There were long queues in these polling stations even after the official time for closing of voting," the EC officials said. The BJP had fielded candidates in all the 60 constituencies in the state, while the Congress did so in 59.