A voter turnout of 44.7 per cent was recorded in the Meghalaya Assembly elections till 1 pm on Monday, with the polling process being largely peaceful since morning, Chief Electoral Officer F R Kharkongor said. Polling began in 59 of the 60 assembly constituencies in the northeastern state at 7 am, as 21.6 lakh voters are set to seal the electoral fate of 369 candidates. “We have noticed enthusiasm among voters in the Khasi Jaintia Hills region and voting is picking up slowly in the Garo Hills, too. Long queues were seen in several polling stations,” Kharkongor told PTI.He also said “no untoward incident” has been reported thus far. “Malfunctioning of EVMs came to the fore at a few polling booths, but those were later fixed. Polling is being held in a free and fair manner,” the CEO said. The ruling National People’s Party is fighting to retain power while the BJP, the Trinamool Congress, and other regional parties are vying to bring about a change in government in Meghalaya.Polling is underway at 3,419 stations, of which 640 have been categorised as vulnerable’ and 323 as critical’, Kharkongor said. Voting will continue till 4 pm. Thirty-six of the 369 candidates are women, with the largest number of 10 being fielded by the Congress....

Meghalaya Chief Minister and National People’s Party president Conrad K Sangma on Saturday filed his nomination papers from South Tura assembly constituency in West Garo...

The BJP announced that it will contest on all 60 seats of the Meghalaya Assembly on Thursday. BJP secretary and its northeast co-incharge Rituraj Sinha...