Manipur recorded 78.03 percent voter turnout in the first phase of voting till 5 pm on Monday as 12.09 lakh voters exercised their right.

Amid tight security arrangements, the state voted for 38 out of the state’s 60 assembly seats.

Of the 38 seats that went into polls today, 29 were from valley districts including Imphal West, Imphal East, and Bishnupur. The rest were from the hill districts of Kangpokpi, Churachandpur, and Pherzawl.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led alliance will be hoping for a second stint in power in Manipur. Apart from BJP, the Congress and Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma’s National People’s Party (NPP) will also be in the fray.

Notably, polling ended an hour later than the time announced earlier, informed officials. There were also stray incidents of violence reported across the state during the first phase of polls.

Naorem Ibochouba, a police personnel of the state deployed for poll duty in Tipaimukh assembly constituency in Churachandpur district died after suspected accidental firing from his own service rifle, Chief Electoral Officer Rajesh Agarwal said.

Meanwhile, Kangpokpi district recorded the highest voter turnout of 82.97 percent which was followed by Imphal West which recorded 82.19 percent turnout.

Imphal East recorded 76.664 percent while Churachandpur recorded 74.45 percent, informed officials.

Excluding stray incidents of violence at at Saitu, Henglep and Singhat constituencies where miscreants damaged electronic voting machines (EVM), the voting that took place across 1721 polling stations was largely peaceful.

Elections for the second phase will be held on March 5. Counting of votes will take place on March 10.