Around 75 per cent votes were today polled in Meghalaya where assembly elections were by and large peaceful, Chief Electoral Officer F R Kharkongor said.
The election office is awaiting data to be received from remote places in the Garo Hills and East Jaintia Hills districts, he said.
“Over 13.5 lakh of the 18.09 lakh voters in Meghalaya have cast their votes. This means around 74.62 per cent polling was recorded,” he said.
The final figure could go up after the data of the far flung areas are added.
Kharkongor said re-polling could be held in one booth of Raliang constituency in West Jaintia Hills district after polling was stopped due to certain EVM related problems.
A formal report from the district election officer is awaited, he said.
Two more polling stations in South Garo Hills and South West Garo Hills districts may also go for re-poll as the officials there forgot to delete the mock poll data from the machines, Kharkongor said.
The CEO said, of the 3,025 EVMs that were used, only 28 malfunctioned.
Polling for 59 of the 60 Assembly seats was held in the north-eastern state. Polling was countermanded in the Williamnagar constituency due to the killing of NCP candidate Jonathone N Sangma on February 18.
The ruling Congress, which won 29 seats in the 2013 elections, is fighting the BJP that hopes to unseat the Mukul Sangma government.
The Congress that has been ruling the state for the last 10 years, has fielded 59 candidates. The chief minister is contesting from two seats.
Although the BJP drew a blank in 2013, it has put up candidates in 47 seats, including four MLAs of the current House who joined the party last month.
Buoyed by the formation of governments in Assam, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh, the BJP is making a determined bid to expand its footprint in the north-east.
The United Democratic Party having eight members in the outgoing House and the Hills State People’s Democratic Party having four MLAs forged a pre-poll alliance and are contesting in 45 seats.
The other major parties contesting the polls are the National People’s Party, the Nationalist Congress Party and the People’s Democratic Front, a new entrant.