GMC polls begin for 57 wards; 7% voter turnout till 10 am

Voting for the crucial Guwahati Municipal Corporation elections is underway with a total of 208 candidates in the fray for the 57 wards up for grabs. The voting process which

Voting for the crucial Guwahati Municipal Corporation elections is underway with a total of 208 candidates in the fray for the 57 wards up for grabs.

The voting process which began a short while ago is slated to continue till 4:30 pm. Till 10 am about 7 percent of voters had cast their vote. Results for 3 wards had already been decided before the polls.

People can be seen coming out early in different polling booths of Guwahati to cast their votes in large numbers.

About an hour before the start of polling, officials conducted mock polling at every polling station. Hectic preparations were seen yesterday as the authorities went about setting each polling booth in order.

The Guwahati Municipal election is being held after a nine-year hiatus, with EVMs being used for the first time in all 60 wards under the GMC.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is contesting in 53 wards amongst which the party has already won uncontested in 3 wards. Meanwhile, Congress is contesting in 55 wards, the Asom Gana Parishad or AGP is contesting in 7 wards whereas the Aam Aadmi Party is contesting in 39 wards and the Asom Jatiya Parishad contesting in 25 wards.

50 percent of the seats in the Guwahati Municipal Corporation are reserved for women.

Eight zones and 76 sectors have been created across the GMC area to conduct the elections. One sector comprises seven to eight polling stations and one zone comprises four to five sectors.

Around 3,500 government employees have been engaged in the elections, which include 757 presiding officers and 2,271 polling officers, along with sector and zonal officials and observers.

The Kamrup Metropolitan district administration has kept 500 EVMs on reserve. 15 percent of the total deployed government officials have been reserved for emergency replacement.

Meanwhile, even as the government has announced a holiday in Guwahati due to the GMC polls, the Kamrup Chamber of Commerce has also called for all shops and commercial establishments to remain closed for the day due to polling.

The counting of votes will be held on April 24 at Maniram Dewan Trade Centre and the result will be declared on the same day.

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