Arunachal Pradesh LS Polls: 38% turnout till 1 pm

Guwahati: According to reports, around 38 per cent of the total 8,92,694 voters exercised their franchise till 1 pm on Friday in Arunachal Pradesh.

Here the polling is underway for two Lok Sabha seats and 50 assembly constituencies.

The ruling BJP has already won ten seats unopposed in the 60-member assembly. The turnout, which was moderate in the morning due to inclement weather, gained momentum as conditions improved during the day.

There were also reports that voting was delayed as electronic voting machines (EVMs) developed technical snags which were later replaced.

Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Pawan Kumar Sain said the lapses were addressed at the earliest.

Union Earth Science Minister Kiren Rijiju, Chief Minister Pema Khandu and Deputy CM Chowna Mein were among the early voters in Arunachal Pradesh.

Rijiju cast his vote in his village Nafra in the newly created Bichom district, while Khandu exercised his franchise at the government secondary school in Bomba from where he did his schooling, at Mukto constituency in Tawang district.

Moreover, Governor Lt Gen (Retd) K T Parnaik and his wife Anagha Parnaik, cast their votes at polling station 1 at P Sector Government Secondary School.