Agartala/New Delhi:
Tripura on Thursday set a new record for the country's highest-ever voter turnout with 93 percent polling in the Assembly elections, which was by and large peaceful.
The Left Front is hoping to return for a record fifth time in the elections to the 60-member Assembly in the north-eastern state with the contest being mainly between the ruling alliance and the Congress.
Tripura had a record polling of 91.22 percent in the last assembly polls in 2008, which was so far the highest in the country. The state has a total electorate of 23, 58,493 voters.
"Though the polling percentage is still being compiled as the last vote was cast after 8 PM, preliminary data indicates that Tripura has recorded the highest ever percentage of 93 percent," Chief Electoral Officer Ashutosh Jindal told PTI.
Polling started at 7 AM and continued till well beyond the 4 PM time for polling as people in large numbers were seen standing in long queues outside several polling stations. The last vote was cast till past 8 PM, poll officials said.
CPI(M) had won 46 seats and CPI got one while the Congress bagged 10 seats in the last assembly polls. Indigenous Nationalist Party of Tripura got one seat and Revolutionary Socialist Party bagged two seats.
In Delhi, Deputy Election Commissioner Alok Shukla said the highest voting of 99 per cent was recorded in a polling booth at Chanman JB School under Radha Kishorpur assembly constituency in Gomati district, where 600 of the 605 voters cast their votes.
Police said that five crude bombs hidden in a bush were recovered from Bodhjungnagar area of Khayerpur constituency by a CRPF patrol. No untoward incident was reported during polls.
Voting had to be stopped at Sonamura in West Tripura district and Dharmanagar in South Tripura district for some time following a technical snag in EVMs and resumed after 10 minutes after the EVMs were replaced, poll officials said.