One killed, two injured in Nagland poll violence ; 56 per cent polling in Nagaland, 41 per cent in Meghalaya
Kohima / Shillong, Feb 27 (IBNS) : One person was shot dead and three others were injured in poll-related violence in Nagaland as voting for Assembly elections is underway in the state along with Meghalaya on Tuesday.
According to reports, about 56 per cent of the voters in Nagaland and 41 per cent in Meghalaya have exercised their franchise till 1 pm.
Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Nagaland Abhijit Sinha said one person was killed and two others were injured in a clash between two groups in Akuluto assembly constituency in Zunheboto district at around 11-10 am.
The clash took place between the supporters of BJP and the ruling Naga People's Front.
According to the reports, Nagaland witnessed several election related clashes on the poll day.
Reports said a civilian was injured when miscreants lobbed a bomb targeting a polling booth in Nagaland’s Tizit town on Tuesday morning.
A total of 30.21 lakh voters will exercise their franchise to decide the fates of 565 candidates in both the states where polling began at 7 am.
The key battle in both the states are between the Congress, BJP and several regional parties.
Both states have a 60-member House each, but voting will be held for 59 constituencies in both.
The BJP, which is already in power in Assam, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh, hopes to expand its frontier further by capturing power in Meghalaya and Nagaland with the help of regional outfits.
This election has posed a challenged to both the ruling parties in Nagaland and Meghalaya, where the BJP has emerged as the strongest opponent after they forged alliance with regional parties.
The Congress has ruled Meghalaya for 15 years, but this time it finds the job tougher with the BJP tying up with the National People’s Party (NPP), founded by former Lok Sabha Speaker Purno Agitok Sangma.
On the other hand, the BJP had dumped its 15-year old partner Naga People’s Front (NPF) in Nagaland and forged alliance with the newly- formed political party Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP, led by three-time Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio to emerge as a big threat to the ruling party.
(Reporting by Hemanta Kumar Nath)
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