Lok Sabha Elections 2024: Here Is Why Six Districts In Nagaland Had Zero Voters

Voting for the first phase of the Lok Sabha elections 2024 concluded on Friday?with?voters from 102 constituencies?across the country?exercising their franchise.?According to the initial estimate, the voter turnout?was recorded?at 63.89?per cent, which election officials said would go up when reports from all polling stations?are obtained.

AP

Voter turnout in first phase

As per estimated voter turnout data, Tripura recorded the highest turnout at around 80.17?per cent, followed by West Bengal at 77.57?per cent. Sikkim recorded around 69.47 per voter turnout.?

Nagaland, which voted for its only Lok Sabha seat in the first phase recorded a 56.91?per cent?voter turnout on Friday.

AP

No votes from six districts

This is?despite the fact that?six districts in the state had not recorded even a single vote.

Among the over four lakh eligible voters in six Eastern?Nagaland?districts -- Mon, Tuensang, Longleng, Kiphire, Shamator, and Noklak not even one of them showed up to vote on Friday.

Even the 20 MLAs representing the Eastern?Nagaland?region also did not exercise their franchise, responding to the 'abstain from?voting' call given by the Eastern?Nagaland?People's Organisation (ENPO), the apex body of seven tribes from the six districts.??

Why residents abstained from vote

Election officials at 738 polling stations in these six districts waited for over nine hours on Friday, but saw no voters due to a call to abstain from the electoral process given by the Naga?organisations?pressing for their demand for a separate ‘Frontier?Nagaland?Territory’.

AP

What is their demand

The ENPO has been campaigning for a ‘Frontier?Nagaland?Territory’ or separate state demand for the seven backward tribes -- Chang, Khiamniungan, Konyak, Phom, Tikhir, Sangtam, and Yimkhiung -- live in the six Eastern?Nagaland?districts.

In a show cause notice to the ENPO,?Nagaland's Chief Electoral Officer R. Vyasan has indicated taking appropriate action under the Indian Penal Code for the 'abstention' call given by the tribal body.

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