6 pct voter turnout till now in Arunachal assembly, Lok Sabha polls

An estimated six per cent voters exercised their franchise in the first two hours of polling in Arunachal Pradesh on Thursday. Simultaneous polls are being held in the state to decide the fate of 181 candidates for 57 assembly seats and 12 candidates for two Lok Sabha constituencies in the state.

Long queues were seen outside many booths in the state capital since 7 am when polling began. Additional Chief Electoral Officer Kangki Darling said an estimated six per cent electors cast their votes till 9 am.

Elaborate security arrangements have been made throughout the state to ensure free, fair and peaceful polling. Maximum security personnel have been deployed in insurgency-hit Tirap, Changlang and Longding districts.

A total of 7,94,162 voters, including 4,01,601 women, are eligible to exercise their franchise in 2,202 polling stations spread across the state. Eleven polling stations have been set up exclusively for women. There are also 3,000 physically challenged voters in the state.

The state has 281 vulnerable polling booths and 662 critical polling stations. The ruling BJP had already opened its account in the assembly polls by winning three seats unopposed in the current election for the 60-member assembly.

The BJP has fielded candidates in the remaining 57 assembly seats while the Congress is contesting in 46 seats, the NPP in 30 seats, JDU in 15, JDS in 12, PPA in nine and the All India Party (AIP) in one seat. There are also 11 independents in the fray for the assembly polls.

(With inputs from agencies.)