Assam records 45.12 pc polling, Meghalaya's voter turnout 50.23 pc till 1 PM

Guwahati, April 19 (IANS) An estimated 45.12 per cent voter turnout was recorded till 1 p.m. on Friday in the five Lok Sabha seats in Assam in the first of the seven-phased Lok Sabha elections, officials said.

Jorhat Lok Sabha constituency recorded the highest voter turnout of 47.73 per cent. Meanwhile, the Sonitpur Lok Sabha seat witnessed second highest voter turnout in the state till 1 PM.

The five Lok Sabha seats in the state that went to polls are Dibrugarh, Jorhat, Kaziranga, Lakhimpur and Sonitpur.

Among these seats, Jorhat is set to witness an interesting contest between Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi and incumbent BJP MP Topon Kunar Gogoi.

Gaurav Gogoi changed his seat this time after his old constituency Kaliabor ceased to exist after the delimitation exercise in Assam.

Meanwhile, Meghalaya recorded an average voter turnout of 48.91 per cent till 1 p.m., as per the date provided by the Election Commission of India (ECI).

While Shillong Lok Sabha seat recorded a higher voter turnout of 50.23 per cent, Tura Lok Sabha recorded 46.67 per cent polling.

Both Lok Sabha seats in the hill state went to the polls in the first phase of the general elections.