Voters get seating facilities even in queue: Why NE stands out

Guwahati: At the trailblazing first phase of elections, Northeast witnessed a huge voter’s turnout on Thursday. Each polling booth across the eight states was swarmed with electors waiting to exercise their franchise, resulting in long queues and extended waiting hours.

Keeping in mind how time-consuming and arduous the electoral process can be, several polling stations across the Northeast arranged for seating facilities like benches and chairs.

This is not the first time that such provisions were made for voters. Even during the 2018 Mizoram assembly elections, the state stood out for providing benches and chairs to voters while they waited for their turns to exercise their franchise.

Not just chairs, Nagaland also set up a one-of-its-kind waiting room at a model polling station in Zunheboto, where there was a creche facilty and free drinking water provision for voters, especially women.

The region on Thursday saw voting for 14 Parliamentary constituencies of the region. Polling for the remaining 11 seats will be held during the second and third phases on April 18 and 23, respectively.