78.76 voter turnout in Nagaland Lok Sabha seat

An estimated 78.67 per cent voter turnout was recorded for the lone Lok Sabha seat in Nagaland and 84.3 per cent for the byelection to Aonglenden Assembly constituency on Thursday, top election official said. The voting figures are provisional and the the final turnout will be known on Friday, Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Abhijit Sinha told a press conference here.

The polling concluded without any incident of violence, except some complaints for malfunctioning of EVMs in around 35 polling stations which was later rectified and voting concluded peacefully, the CEO said. Nagaland has a total of 12,13,777 electorates, comprising of 5,98,503 women and 6,15,274 men voters, including 7415 service voters.

Four candidates INCs K L Chishi,  NDPPs Tokheho Yepthomi, NPPs Hayithung Tungoe and Independent Dr MM Thromwa Konyak are in the fray for the Lok Sabha seat.

The CEO said his office has taken up the issue of Deputy Chief Minister Y Patton wearing a BJP stole while casting vote at his native village at Rephyim in his home constituency 37-Tyui in Wokha district. He also said that the Congress Party has demanded re-poll in the polling station as a video circulating in the social media has shown the Deputy CM getting inside the polling station and verifying several voters slip and casting the vote. He said the appropriate action against the Deputy CM will be finalized only after Friday’s scrutiny.

Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio cast his vote at Touphema under his home constituency in Northern Angami-II. Opposition Leader T R Zeliang did it in Jalukie town of Peren district. NDPP nominee Tokheho Yepthomi exercised the franchise at Naharbari GPS polling station while INC nominee K L Chishi casted his vote at Atoizu in Zunheboto district.

The bypoll to Aonglenden Assembly segment is a straight contest between the Congress nominee Alemjongshi Longkumer and Sharingain Longkumer of ruling NDPP. The bypoll was necessitated following the demise of sitting ruling MLA Imtikumzuk in September last year.

Aonglenden has a total of 12,436 electorates including 6,146 male and 6,290 female voters and it recorded a voter turnout of 84.3 per cent.

Asked about single member of a family casting vote for the entire family, which has been reported from several quarters, the CEO said there are no documentary evidence of such practices while there are no complaints of proxy voting and booth capturing too.