Eleven per cent voters cast ballot till 10 AM in Arunachal Pradesh

ITANAGAR: An estimated eleven per cent electorate cast their votes till 10 AM for the two Lok Sabha seats and 49 out of 60 Assembly seats in Arunachal Pradesh, polling for which began this morning.

The turnout of voters during the morning hour was moderate, deputy chief electoral officer D J Bhattacharya said.

Inclement weather due to overnight rain could not dampen the spirit of the electorate, as many voters were seen standing in queues in the polling stations since 6 AM, an hour before start of polling.

A significant turnout of women and youth (first timer) voters was recorded in majority of the polling booths.

"People in a large number including the youth, turning out to cast their votes in the largest festival of democracy is highly encouraging," said Governor Lt Gen (Retd) Nirbhay Sharma after casting his vote along with his wife Jyotsna Sharma.

"I congratulate the people of the state for their peaceful participation in the poll process indicating growth of democracy," he added.

After casting his vote at Sagalee about 137 km from here, a confident Chief Minister Nabam Tuki who, who is among 11 Congress candidates elected unopposed to the 60-member House, said that the party would emerge winner in both the Lok Sabha polls as well as the Assembly elections.

"We will not only win both the Parliament seats but cross 40 plus mark in the Assembly as people have reposed their faith on the ruling party. This fact is evident with the victory of 11 party candidates uncontested to the Assembly," Tuki told reporters over telephone.

Polling remained peaceful without any incidents of violence reported from any part of the state.

All the inter-state check gates have been sealed till 5 PM to prevent entry and exit of people.

The state government has declared a state holiday today to enable people to participate in the democratic exercise.