Guwahati, Jun 8 (PTI) Polling is underway for the Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council in Assam on Wednesday with over 37 per cent of the electorate exercising their franchise till noon, an official of the Assam State Election Commission (ASEC) said.
As per data enumerated till noon, 37.38 per cent of the 7,03,298 voters have exercised their franchise to elect 26 representatives, the ASEC official told reporters here.
The polling is being conducted through ballot papers as the rule to use electronic voting machines (EVMs) was not enacted by the council.
The counting of the votes in Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council (KAAC) elections will be held on June 12.
The total number of voters in the constituencies spread across two districts and one sub-division is 7,03,298, including 3,55,503 men, 3,47,790 women and five third gender.
Along with KAAC polling, the by-election to Koklabari constituency in Baksa district of the Bodoland Territorial Council is also taking place on Wednesday and 32 per cent voting has been recorded so far.
The by-poll was necessitated after UPPL President Pramod Boro won both Goibari and Koklabari seats in the 2020 BTC polls and vacated the latter constituency.
The election for KAAC is held for the first time after signing of a peace agreement with five insurgent groups of Karbi Anglong district in September 2021, the third such accord inked with militants of the hill district with earlier being signed in 1995 and 2011.
With the signing of the ‘Karbi Anglong Agreement’ last year, a ‘Special Development Package’ of Rs 1,000 crore over five years for the development of Karbi areas was announced.