KOHIMA, May 5 – Barring stray incidents of proxy voting, minor scuffles among supporters of political parties and damage to electronic voting machines, the election to the lone Lok Sabha seat in Nagaland remained by and large peaceful today, officials said, reports PTI.
The state’s Chief Electoral Officer, Lalthara, and Returning Officer, T N Mannen, in a joint briefing told newsmen that the exercise remained by and large peaceful with Mokokchung and Longleng districts recording over 90 per cent turnout.
In one polling station in Tuensang district, miscreants snatched away the EVM while the polling party was returning and randomly switched on the button. Later it was found that polling was more than the number of electorate in the booth, forcing the Deputy Commissioner to recommend re-polling by the Election Commission. Re-polling is likely to be held on May 7, they said.
The seven districts from where the final figures of voter turnout were recieved are: Kohima (87 per cent), Mokokchung (90 per cent), Mon (85 per cent), Zhunheboto (84 per cent), Wokha (79 per cent), Dimapur (87 per cent) and Longleng (97 per cent). Large-scale proxy voting and intimidation of voters, which have been a hallmark of elections in Nagaland, have been reported from different parts of the State with urban polling stations registering most such cases.
Although there are five candidates in the fray, the electoral battle was mainly confined between the ruling Democratic Allaince of Nagaland consensus candidate, Wangyuh Konyak, and Congress' K Asungba Sangtam. A large number of school children were seen in lines outside polling stations, particularly at Kohima and Dimapur. The Opposition Congress alleged that supporters of the ruling alliance in connivance with polling personnel and underground activists indulged in malpractices in many places by scaring away the party's polling agents and intimidating voters.