Assam Lok Sabha Election 2024: Vehicle Carrying EVM Sinks In Deopani River, State Records Over 60% Voter Turnout

Assam Lok Sabha Elections 2024: Assam on Friday witnessed voting for five seats including Dibrugarh, Jorhat, Kaziranga, Lakhimpur, and Sonitpur. Voting in the state began at 7:00 am in the morning and will continue till 6:00 pm in the evening. As the electoral process was underway, a challenge was faced when an SUV carrying an electronic voting machine (EVM) partially sank into a river after water level rose suddenly washing away a mechanised boat that was ferrying the vehicle in Assam's Lakhimpur constituency, an official said.

It was on its way to Amarpur area in Sadiya to replace an EVM after a technical glitch was detected in it as polling commenced in the morning. The driver and the polling officer of the vehicle managed to get out before water gushed into the vehicle.

A quick response team stationed at Sadiya dispatched the SUV with the EVM, accompanied by the driver and an official. "As the vehicle was being carried by a mechanised boat across the Deopani river, its water level and current suddenly increased. The boat sank under the force of the water, and the vehicle also partially sank," the official said.

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"A State Disaster Response Force team was called in to pull the vehicle out of the water. The EVM, meant for replacement, was damaged in the accident," he added.

BJP is contesting 11 out of 14 seats in Assam, while its ally parties, Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), are contesting in two seats (Barpeta and Dhubri) and UPPL in one seat (Kokrajhar), respectively. Among the five seats voting on Friday, Jorhat is set to witness an interesting contest between Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi and incumbent BJP MP Topon Kunar Gogoi.

An estimated 60.70 per cent voter turnout was recorded till 3 pm, with Jorhat recording the highest voter turnout at 64.84 per cent among the five constituencies. The second phase will be held on April 26 and the remaining phases will be May 7, May 13, May 20, May 25 and June 1 accordingly. The counting of votes will take place on June 4.