Category: north-east

A 44.73 per cent voter turnout was registered until 1 p.m. on Monday in the ongoing Meghalaya Assembly polls being held in 59 of the 60 constituencies under tight security, election officials said.

More than 57.06 per cent voter turnout was recorded till 1 p.m. on Monday in the Nagaland Assembly polls, currently underway in 59 of the 60 Assembly constituencies amid tight security, election officials said.

Around 11 per cent voter turnout was recorded in the first two hours of voting till 9 a.m. on Monday in the Meghalaya Assembly polls conducted in 59 of the 60 constituencies under heavy security measures, election officials said.

Nearly 13 per cent voter turnout was recorded till 9 a.m. on Monday in the Nagaland Assembly polls currently underway in 59 of the 60 constituencies amid tight security, election officials said.

At least six Christian clerics, including three women, died on the spot and two others were injured after their vehicle was hit by a cement-laden truck at Sumer in Meghlaya's Ri Bhoi district on Sunday, police said.

BJP candidate Kazheto Kinimi was re-elected unopposed from the Akuluto Assembly constituency after his only opponent and Congress nominee Khekashe Sumi withdrew his candidature on the last day of the withdrawal of nominations on February 10.

The polling would not be held in Sohiong Assembly Constituency in East Khasi Hills district following the death of United Democratic Party (UDP) candidate H. Donkupar Roy Lyngdoh, who died on February 20 due to illness.

Conrad and his brother James Pangsang Kongkal Sangma, a minister in the MDA government, are contesting the polls. Their sister and former union minister Agatha Sangma is the incumbent Lok Sabha MP from Tura, one of Meghalaya's two parliamentary seats.

The campaign for the February 27 Nagaland assembly election came to an end on Saturday. The voting would be held in 59 of the 60 assembly constituencies in 16 districts amid a thick security cover on Monday.

The polling would not be held in Sohiong Assembly Constituency in East Khasi Hills district following the death of United Democratic Party (UDP) candidate H. Donkupar Roy Lyngdoh, who died on February 20 due to illness.

In view of the upcoming Assembly polls in Meghalaya on February 27, the state's borders with Bangladesh and Assam will remain sealed until March 2, the counting day.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday, while addressing an election rally in Meghalaya's Tura, said that the BJP-led NDA government has changed the old thinking and approach to develop the northeast, as the government considers the region as the growth engine of the country.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said that the northeast is a strong pillar of the Act East Policy and Meghalaya along with the entire region has a strong prospect of trade and tourism.

Addressing his first election rally in Nagaland's Agri Expo Center Ground in Dimapur, the Prime Minister said that a large number of cadres of various militant outfits surrendered and joined the mainstream to ensure peace in Nagaland.

After tightening security along the over 200-km-long unfenced India-Myanmar border in Nagaland, the state's borders with Assam, Manipur, and Arunachal Pradesh would be sealed on Saturday ahead of the February 27 Assembly polls.

Sarma handed over appointment letters to 161 veterinary officials and 32 fisheries development officials on Wednesday. Also, thirteen appointment letters were given for the industries and commerce department and four for the public health and engineering department.

West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee said on Wednesday that BJP and Congress can never be the friends of the people of Meghalaya, where they could not even build roads despite ruling the country for many years.

Kataria, who replaced Jagdish Mukhi, hails from Udaipur in Rajasthan. A former Home Minister of Rajasthan, Kataria was the leader of opposition in the Rajasthan Assembly prior to his appointment as the Governor of Assam.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday alleged that the BJP was like a "class bully" that respects no one and the party, along with the RSS, captured every single institution of the country.

As much a 90 per cent work of the Jiribam-Imphal new railway line have been completed and Manipur capital is expected to come onto the Indian Railways network by December 2023, making it the fourth capital city in the northeastern region to have a rail link, officials said on Tuesday.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday said that the Central government has made a promise to the people of Nagaland that it is committed to finding an early solution to the decades-old Naga political issue.

President Droupadi Murmu on Monday said Arunachal Pradesh is a "very important state" from a strategic and geographical point of view, adding a good infrastructure is essential for the national security and economic development of the state.

"Nirmalya Dey, the nephew of Sankari Dey, had also filed an FIR in Novemnber last year at Noonmati police station suspecting probable kidnapping of her aunt. Unfortunately, the police could not find much clue in both the missing cases," the officer said.

The NDPP and the BJP had contested the 2018 elections with a 40:20 seat-sharing formula and the alliance partners in July last year have decided to continue with the same understanding.

Four out of the five deceased have been identified as Merina Sangma, Sabina Marak, Kukila Momin and Tesa Sangma. The identity of the fifth woman who died on the spot is yet to be ascertained.