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| Women hold up their voter identity cards as they stand in a queue to cast their votes at Tuinem under Chingnai constituency in Ukhrul district on the outskirts of Imphal on Saturday. Picture by UB Photos |
Imphal, Feb. 4: Repolling in 34 polling stations across 11 Assembly constituencies in the five hill districts of Manipur was held peacefully today.
The repoll was ordered following violence and booth-capturing during the January 28 polling.
The polling stations included Thampi in Chandel district where a shootout took place on January 28 in which a CRPF jawan, four polling personnel, a minor girl and a suspected militant were killed.
Of the 34 polling stations, eight were in Chandel district, nine in Ukhrul district, eight in Senapati district, four in Tamenglong district and five in Churachandpur district.
The repolling began at 7am under heavy security by central paramilitary forces and state forces to prevent attempts by armed groups to capture booths.
The turnout was large and there was no report of any violence, the state election control room said.
“The repolling was very peaceful and the turnout was also quite good. Given the intelligence inputs and alertness of the security personnel, polling went on smoothly and there was no disruption by any anti-social elements,” N. Praveen, the joint chief electoral officer, said.
Barring a firing incident in Moreh this morning, the day was incident-free.
Reports said Assam Rifles troops fired some rounds in the air at Premnagar near Manipur-Myanmar border gate No. 2 this morning when residents prevented them from arresting some individuals.
However, the incident was not related to the repolling. No one was injured in the firing. The firing incident did not disrupt polling at the nearby polling station in Moreh, the border town.
The January 28 polling registered 79.35 per cent votes.
A total of 279 candidates are in the fray. Counting of votes will begin on March 6.
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