Assam civic polls: Counting of votes underway, BJP leads in 296 wards

According to the Assam State Election Commission, by 10 am BJP and its allies were leading in 296 out of 977 wards. Followed by Congress and its allies in 66 wards.

New Delhi: Counting of votes for the Assam Municipal Election 2022 is currently underway. Voting for 977 wards in 80 Assam municipal boards was held on March 6 in the state. 

The Assam State Election Commission on Wednesday (March 9, 2022) informed that the Bharatiya Janata Party and its allies were leading in 296 out of 977 wards as of 10 am. According to the commission, Congress and its allies stood at second place with lead in 66 wards. 

It may be noted that out of 977 wards, 57 had already been declared uncontested and elections were held for 920 wards.

This is the first time that EVMs were used instead of ballot papers in these elections.

"We have made all the arrangements. Security has been beefed up. Since we are using EVMs this time, I believe the counting will get over early," said Biswajit Pegu, District Deputy Commissioner, Dibrugarh.

Additionally, the state election commission said that the polls recorded a total voter turnout of 70 per cent. 

In the Assam civic polls, 2,532 candidates are in the fray. The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party has fielded the maximum number of candidates (825), followed by Congress with 706 candidates and BJP`s ally Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) with 243 candidates.

(With ANI inputs)