— Photo: Ritu Raj Konwar

I HAVE VOTED: Asom Gana Parishad president Brindaban Goswami and his wife Labainya Goswami come out after casting their votes in West Tezpur constituency in Assam on Monday.

Guwahati: Over 70 per cent of a total of 82.27 lakh voters exercised their franchise in the second and final phase of polling in Assam, amidst stray incidents of violence, on Monday.

Chief Electoral Officer J.P. Prakash told The Hindu that polling was by and large peaceful. Repoll might be ordered in some booths, where either the electronic voting machines malfunctioned or there was any genuine complaint of bias against the presiding officer.

He said suspected militants exploded an improvised explosive device at Molajan village in Karbi Anglong district, injuring two security personnel. A CRPF personnel was injured when suspected militants attacked a polling party at Borpung. Militants abducted a CRPF head constable before the start of the polling in the district.

On Sunday night, unidentified assailants killed a school teacher in Kokrajhar district.

Mr. Prakash said that while polling in most of the constituencies was peaceful, Diphu, Baram, Sotia and Samaguri "kept the Election Commission busy."

There were reports that in the Tamulpur constituency, the local MLA, Biswajit Daimari, damaged a ballot unit in a booth. However, it was replaced as the control unit was working. The officer in-charge of the Tamulpur police station was ordered to arrest the MLA, the CEO said.

Prominent runners among the 482 candidates in the 61 constituencies are Asom Gana Parishad chief Brindaban Goswami; the former Chief Minister, Prafulla Kumar Mahanta; the State Communist Party of India (Marxist) secretary and former MP, Uddhab Barman; and Assam United Democratic Front president Badaruddin Ajmal.

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