33 faulty EVMs replaced in Assam

Over 33 electronic voting machines (EVMs) malfunctioned in five Lok Sabha constituencies in Assam on Monday.

Authorities replaced 29 faulty machines. Nine EVMs were replaced in Kaliabor, six were changed in Lakhimpur, five each in Tezpur and Dibrugarh and four in Jorhat. Elections for the 16th Lok Sabha are underway for the first phase in five constituencies of Assam and one in Tripura.

Voting began at 7 a.m. and will continue till 5 p.m. In Assam, polling is taking place for five parliamentary constituencies that are Kaliabor, Dibrugarh, Lakhimpur, Jorhat, and Tezpur. In Tripura, the lone constituency is Tripura (West).

A total 51 candidates are in the fray in the first phase, some of the prominent among them being Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi's son Gourav Gogoi, Union Minister Paban Singh Ghatowar, Union Minister Ranee Narah, State Bharatiya Janata Party president Sarbananda Sonowal and sitting Asom Gana Parishad MP Joseph Toppo.