SILCHAR, July 31: Despite heavy showers lashing the town for the last few days, about 1,23,522 people voted to elect 28 representatives for the Silchar Municipality Board today, the voter turnout being 65 per cent. People were seen waiting to cast votes in long queues in almost all the polling booths. Barring some fisticuffs, no major incidents were reported. The police administration had earlier identified eight centres as hyper sensitive and 59 as sensitive.
Although the rain did not dampen the spirit of the voters, it definitely played a spoilsport for the Congress, which had led the previous Board. Sources said incessant rains since Tuesday aggravated the water-logging problem in the town which might be a blessing for the independent candidates as the voters are seeking the removal of the Congress due to its failure.
Meanwhile, sources said senior leaders from both the Congress and BJP like Santosh Mohan Dev, Kabindra Purkayastha, Bithika Dev, Karnendu Bhattacharjee, Misbaul Islam Laskar and Ajit Singh were seen roaming around the town to heighten the spirit of their party cadres.
Moreover, the absence of Election Commission observers had created some doubt and apprehension about smooth and transparent electioneering in the area, but these doubts were soon put to rest after both the Congress and the BJP expressed confidence on the district administration. The administration divided the 28 wards in four zones and a senior police officer was in charge of every zone. Four special police vans were plying around the entire town to thwart any attempt to disrupt the poll process.
HAILAKANDI: The civic polls was peaceful at Hailakandi and Lala today. Altogether 103 candidates contested in 16 wards of the Hailakandi Municipal Board and 40 candidates contested in the nine wards of Lala Town Committee. A candidate, Hirendra Singha, was already declared elected in Lala Town Committee. The voter turnout was almost 55 per cent in Hailakandi and 70 per cent in Lala Town Committee.
Additional Deputy Commissioner and Magistrate in-charge of Hailakandi Municipal area P B Roy said there was no news of any untoward incidents in the town during the polls. Sources said paramilitary forces were deployed in all the booths. This prevented the miscreants from creating any trouble during the election. Deputy Commissioner Tapan Chandra Goswami thanked the people of Hailakandi and Lala Town Committees for their cooperation during the elections. (Source – Sentinel)