Young and the first-time voters in Udalguri turn out in large numbers

A Correspondent

TANGLA: To be part of the nation-building process and to exercise their constitutional right, the 8 no. Mangaldoi HPC witnessed a large turnout of voters in Udalguri election district encompassing Paneri, Udalguri and Mazbat LAC on Thursday.

The young and the first-time voters came out in large numbers since early morning and were seen standing in serpentine queues in polling booths. Special arrangements were also made for ferrying the Person with Disabilities (PwD) voters to various polling booths. A large number of differently-abled voters in various age groups also came out on their own to exercise their franchise in Tangla, Paneri and Udalguri under the Mangaldai constituency.

The Udalguri district election officials said voter turnout was high at most places, with 74 per cent in Udalguri LAC, 75 per cent in Paneri LAC and 73 per cent in Mazbat LAC. Reports have poured in from various polling booths in Tangla, Paneri and Udalguri about glitches in electronic voting machines which delayed the polling.

In almost every polling station, voters, both young and old, were seen taking selfies after exercising their franchise. The Mangaldai HPC, which encompasses 10 Assembly constituencies, including Kalaigaon, Paneri, Udalguri (ST), Mazbat, Mangaldai (SC), Sipajhar, Dalgaon, Kamalpur, Rangiya and Nalbari covering four districts has electoral strength of 17,75,180. In the 2014 parliamentary election, sitting BJP MP Ramen Deka defeated Congress candidate Kirip Chaliha by a narrow margin of 22,894 votes.

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