The ruling Bhartiya Janata Party is leading the Assam panchayat elections as counting of votes is underway, the latest state panchayat poll trends reveal on Thursday, 13 December.
The BJP won the highest number of seats in the first day of counting of panchayat polls in Assam on Wednesday, with 45 percent of declared results going in its favour, followed by the Congress, the state election commission said.
Earlier, Assam State Election Commissioner H N Bora had confirmed that the counting to all the 26,808 posts would continue on Wednesday, 12 December and was likely to take entire Thursday.
Elections were held in two phases to elect 21,990 gaon panchayat members (GPM), 2,199 anchalik panchayat members (APM), 420 zila parishad member (ZPM) and 2,199 gaon panchayat presidents (GPP).
78,571 Candidates in the Fray
A total of 78,571 candidates contested in the four-tier panchayat elections. The BJP, Congress, Asom Gana Parishad, Left parties and Bodoland Peoples Front are touted as the main contenders for the polls.
The results of the the polls that were held in two phases are likely to be announced on Thursday, 13 December since the polling was carried out using ballot paper.
"The counting is going on peacefully. No anomalies have been reported from any counting hall in any part of the state," Bora said.
While there were 78,571 contestants, 734 were elected uncontested.
BJP Wins 7,768 GPM Seats, Cong Bags 3,948 GPM Seats
Based on the latest results stated on the PTI, the BJP has won 7,768 GPM seats, 653 seats of the APM, and 223 ZPM seats. The party has also won 605 GPP seats.
The Congress, in contrast, won 3,948 GPM seats, 365 APM seats, 131 ZPM seats and 293 GPP seats, the sources said.
BJP's alliance partner Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) that contested alone won 1,332 GPM seats, 122 APM seats, 37 ZPM seats and 95 GPP seats.
Polling in 2 Phases for 26 Districts
The first phase of polling that took place on 5 December in the 16 districts of Dhemaji, Lakhimpur, Tinsukia, Dibrugrah, Sivasagar, Charaideo, Jorhat, Majuli, Golaghat, Nagaon, Biswanath, Sonitpur, Darrang, Morigaon, Kamrup Metro and Kamrup saw a voter turnout of 81.5 percent.
The second phase of polling that was held on 9 December in the districts of Nalbari, Barpeta, Bongaigaon, Dhubri, South Salmara, Goalpara, Cachar, Hailakandi, Karimganj and Hojai, saw an estimated voter turnout of 75 percent.
(With inputs from PTI and All India Radio News)
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