With the outlawed ULFA remaining aloof during the ongoing Lok Sabha elections, polling in the second and final phase in 11 constituencies in the Brahmaputra Valley in Assam turned out to be by and large peaceful. The election office has put the turnout percentage at about 65.

There were, however, a few stray incidents of violence affecting polling in seven polling stations—five in Kokrajhar and two in Mangaldoi—with the state Chief Electoral Officer’s office sending a repoll recommendation to the Election Commission.

A member of the Assam United Democratic Front (AUDF) was hacked to death near a polling booth in Goalpara district under Dhubri Lok Sabha constituency.

While the rains initally dampened the mood in various parts of the Brahmaputra valley, the voters turned out in large numbers by 10 am as the weather cleared up.

The 121 candidates whose fates were sealed on Thursday in the 11 constituencies in Assam included Union minister and Congress nominee Bijoy Krishna Handique (Jorhat), BJP national vice-president and former Union minister Bijoya Chakravarty (Guwahati), controversial Congress MP Mani Kumar Subba (Tezpur) and AUDF president and Mumbai-based international perfume tycoon Badruddin Ajmal (in Dhubri and Silchar).