GUWAHATI: Polling for the by-election to Ranikor and South Tura Assembly constituencies in Meghalaya passed off peacefully on Thursday. According to the state's election department, Ranikor recorded a voters' turnout of 82.1 per cent while it was 72.87 per cent in South Tura. In the Assembly elections of February, Ranikor had recorded 89.5 per cent voters' turnout as against 73.59 per cent by South Tura.
"The polling passed off peacefully. There were minor glitches as regards the functioning of electronic voting machines (EVMs). However, it was limited to three places in Tura and four places in Ranikor. The EVMs were replaced and polling went on smoothly," the state's chief electoral officer, Frederick Roy Kharkongor, told TNIE.
He also said that ten runners were engaged in Ranikor on Thursday to relay messages."The runners were there in ten non-motorable polling stations. They acted as living bridges of communication and were able to pass on information and updates in a very efficient manner," Kharkongor added.
Chief Minister Conrad Sangma contested from the South Tura seat along with Charlotte W Momin of the Congress and independent candidates John Leslee K Sangma, who is a former MLA, and Chris Kabul A Sangma.
Sangma, son of former Lok Sabha Speaker PA Sangma, has to get elected to the Assembly to be able to continue as the CM. He donned the CM's mantle after the National People's Party-led (NPP) Meghalaya Democratic Alliance formed the government in March this year. He was then serving as the Tura MP. His sister Agatha Sangma represented the South Tura seat but she resigned last month to make way for him. She will contest next year's Lok Sabha polls if he gets through.
Sangma, who is not a voter in South Tura, accompanied his mother Soradini K Sangma and Agatha to a polling booth where they cast their votes.
The by-election in Ranikor was necessitated after five-time sitting Congress MLA Martin K Danggo had resigned in June to contest as an NPP candidate. The by-election here assumed significance given that NPP's two regional allies United Democratic Party (UDP) and People's Democratic Front (PDF) fielded candidates against Danggo. Danggo vied against UDP's Pius Marwein, PDF's PN Syiem and Congress's Jackiush Sangma.