Assembly elections 2018: PM Narendra Modi urges people to vote in large numbers in Meghalaya, Nagaland

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged people of Meghalaya and Nagaland to vote in large numbers in the Assembly polls on Tuesday.

I urge the people of Meghalaya and Nagaland to vote in large numbers in the Assembly Elections taking place today.

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 27, 2018

The Northeastern states of Meghalaya and Nagaland are voting to elect a new Assembly. Polling will be held between 7 am and 4 pm. The two states have a 60-member House each, but voting will be held for 59 constituencies in both.

In Meghalaya, the election has been countermanded in Williamnagar in the wake of the killing of NCP candidate Jonathone N Sangma in an IED blast in East Garo Hills district on February 18.

In Nagaland, NDPP chief Neiphiu Rio has been declared elected unopposed from the Northern Angami-II constituency.

The results of the polls in the two states, along with that of Tripura, will be declared on March 3, 2018. A high-decibel campaign for the polls in the two states came to an end on Sunday.

In Meghalaya, the Congress and the BJP are pitted against each other. While the former has fielded 59 candidates, the latter has put up nominees in 47 constituencies.

Though they are contesting the polls separately, in Meghalaya, the National People's Party (NPP) of Conrad Sangma, son of former Lok Sabha speaker PA Sangma, is the BJP's partner in the North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA).

In Nagaland, BJP's hope hinges on its alliance partner NDPP (the Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party) of Neiphiu Rio, which is contesting from 40 seats. The saffron party has fielded candidates from the remaining 20 seats.

The Congress, which has given three chief ministers to Nagaland since the state's inception in 1963, is contesting from only 18 seats, two less than the BJP, an emerging entity in the north-east.

There are 370 candidates in the fray in Meghalaya. A total of 18.4 lakh voters are eligible to exercise their franchise in 3,083 polling stations in the state.

In Nagaland, a total of 11,91,513 voters - 6,01,707 (50.50 per cent) men and 5,89,806 (49.50 per cent) women - will exercise their franchise. There are also 5,925 service voters.

(With PTI inputs)