Meghalaya Assembly Elections 2018: Over 89K first-time voters in state; voter turnout over 70%

Polls in the two key north eastern states of Nagaland and Meghalaya were marred by a blast due to a crude bomb in the former, and some technical glitches in EVM machines in the latter. In both states, voting percentage hovered at around 70 per cent.

There were also clashes in Zunheboto district in Nagaland and the total voter turnout in the state, till 4 pm, was 75 percent, down from the 90 per cent turnout the state recorded in the last Assembly elections in 2013.

"A handmade bomb was lobbed at the polling booth at around 5.45 am, in which one village council member, Yanlon, suffered minor injuries in the leg," Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Abhijit Sinha said. One person was killed and two injured in the clashes.

The state has a total of 11,76,432 voters, which includes 5,97,281 men and 5,79,151 women. At 4 pm, when voting ended, several polling stations still had long queues. The final turnout is expected to cross 85%, said a state official.

The BJP, with its ally the Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP), is expected to make a formidable impact, with former chief minister Neiphiu Rio leading the alliance. BJP's former ally, the Nagaland People's Front, with Chief Minister TR Zeliang as its face, might bear the brunt of the breaking away from an alliance with the BJP.

In matrilineal Meghalaya, women voters outnumbered men. Of a total electorate of 18,09,818, the number of women voters was 9,13,702 and 8,96,135 men. There were also 89,405 first-time voters.

Speaking in Shillong, Meghalaya CEO FR Kharkongor said that in the "gender-sensitive" state, the voter turnout stood at 67 per cent till 5pm. "As the terrain in Meghalaya is hilly and a number of the polling booths fall in shadow areas, communication is challenging in some booths in the Garo hills and parts of the west Khasi hills. On Wednesday, we will have the full and comprehensive voting percentage," he said.

Kharkongor also said the first-time voter turnout, which accounted for over 4.5 per cent of the electorate, was one of the highest in the country. "It reflects the enthusiasm of young voters," he said.

Over 31 EVMs and 41 voter-verifiable paper audit trails (VVPATs) developed technical glitches. Polling in the Kyndon Tuber booth under Raliang constituency developed a snag when the ballot unit meant for Mowkaiaw was sent here instead. The booth will see a repolling, but no dates have been announced yet.

Speaking to DNA, Meghalaya CM Mukul Sangma said that he is confident of a win. "We will have a comfortable majority and the Congress will form a stable government," said Sangma.

Over 106 companies of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF), along with the state armed personnel and police, were deployed across the state, especially in the troubled Garo hills region. Sixty seven women polling stations and 61 model polling stations were set up in the state, and 580 polling stations were "vulnerable".

Polls took place in Tripura on February 18. Counting for all three states—Tripura, Meghalaya and Nagaland—will happen on March 3.