Volunteers were seen assisting the elderly at a polling station in Manipur as polling commenced for the remaining part of the Outer Manipur parliamentary constituency on Friday. The voting is taking place at 857 polling stations across 13 assembly segments in eight districts, said Chief Electoral Officer PK Jha.
The constituency recorded a voter turnout of mere 15.49 per cent till 9 am with the Tipaimukh assembly segment in the Pherzawl district logging the highest turnout at 19.80 per cent, while the Jiribam assembly segment recorded the lowest at 8.62 per cent in the first two hours of voting.
During the first phase of voting for the Lok Sabha polls, parts of the Outer Manipur seat, covering 12 assembly segments, and 32 assembly segments of the Inner Manipur.
Four candidates are in fray from this seat in the second phase: Naga People's Front candidate K Timothy Zimik, Congress' Alfred Kanngam Arthur, and independents S Kho John and Alyson Abonmai. The Bharatiya Janata Party has not fielded any candidate from this parliamentary constituency and is backing its ally, the NPF.
Over 4.84 lakh registered voters, including 8,02,577 women and 246 transgender electors, will seal the fate of these four candidates
Ahead of the polls, the security measures were significantly enhanced across all 13 assembly segments. Around 87 companies of central paramilitary forces and 4,000 state forces personnel have been deployed to ensure free and fair elections, according to a PTI report.
The Naga People's Front had emerged victorious in the 2019 elections, defeating the BJP by a margin of 73,782 votes.