Voter turnout in the Nagaon Lok Sabha by-election reached 17.68 per cent by 9 am on Tuesday, with polling continuing across the constituency in a three-way contest between BJP’s Debashish Sharma, Congress’ Sibamoni Bora and AIUDF chief Badruddin Ajmal.
Voting began at 7 am at 2,112 polling stations, with around 19.02 lakh eligible voters expected to cast their ballots.
The contest saw early voting by key political figures. Sharma exercised his franchise at Mayong Higher Secondary School and, after voting, became emotional while urging people to participate in the election and stressing the importance of voting for democracy.
Bora voted at Jajori Majgaon and expressed confidence in receiving support from both minority and majority communities. Morigaon MLA Ramakanta Deuri voted at Deobaguri Primary School, while Rupohihat MLA Nurul Huda cast his ballot at Roumari Maktab School.
Polling was briefly affected by an EVM malfunction at Polling Station No. 72 in East Sidhabari in Morigaon district. The issue was reported after five voters had cast their votes, with voters waiting as officials worked to resolve the technical problem.
The by-election is being closely contested by the BJP, Congress and AIUDF, with polling continuing throughout the day across urban and rural areas of the constituency.
