New Delhi: Polling for 60 Assembly constituencies each in Nagaland, Tripura and Meghalaya began on February 26 morning amid tight security.

Over 42 lakh voters are expected to cast their ballots, which will decide the fortunes of 812 candidates including S C Jamir (Nagaland), Flinder Anderson Khonglam (Meghalaya), Manik Sarkar (Tripura) and four Former Chief Ministers.

In Nagaland, over 45,000 police, para-military and Army personnel have been deployed to ensure peaceful conduct of Assembly polls amidst shadow of large-scale intimidation and threats to voters.

Over 10 lakh voters are eligible to exercise the fate of 225 candidates. Prominent among them are K L Chishi of Nagaland Democratic Party (NDP) and Congress defector and former Home Minister in the Jamir Cabinet Neiphiu Rio.

In Meghalaya, over 12 lakh voters are expected to cast their ballots to decide the political fortunes of 333 aspirants.

In Tripura, Chief Minister Manik Sarkar (Dhanpur), two former Chief Ministers Sudhir Ranjan Majumder and Samir Ranjan Burman are among 254 candidates in fray.

Altogether, 19,35,143 voters are eligible to exercise their franchise in these states.

Voting for Himachal Pradesh Assembly elections in 65 constituencies also began on February 26 morning amidst tight security.

As many as 39,82,811 voters are eligible to exercise their franchise, which decide the fate of 391 candidates, including Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal, former Chief Minister V B Singh, Speaker of the dissolved Assembly Ghulam Singh Thakur, Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee president Vidya Stokes and state Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Jai Krishen Sharma.

Polling for three snow-bound constituencies – Lahaul Spiti, Kinnaur and Pangi Bharmaur – has been deferred to June 8.

Electronic voting machines will be used for the first time in the state in all the constituencies.

The BJP and Congress are contesting all the 68 seats, Himachal Vikas Party in 45, former Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan's Lok Janshakti Party in 30, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) 23, Samajwadi Party 19, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) 15, Communist Party of India (CPI) seven and Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) four.

Around 1,000 para-military personnel and 13,000 police and Home Guards have been deployed to ensure free and fair polling.

As many as 548 polling booths have been declared hyper sensitive and 1,018 sensitive.

Speaker and the former Agriculture Minister Vidya Sagar, who were denied party tickets, are contesting as independents against the party candidates.

Dhumal, who is seeking re-election from Bamsam constituency, faces a strong challenge from Kuldip Singh Pathania, a former president of Himachal Pradesh Youth Congress Committee.

This is the third time that Pathania is contesting from the seat. In the last Assembly polls in 1998, he had lost to Dhumal by a margin of 8,800 votes.

Counting of ballots will be held on March 1.

Simultaneously, by-polls also began in seven Assembly constituencies spread over six states – two in Uttar Pradesh (Gauriganj and Haidergarh) and one each in Jammu and Kashmir (Pampore), Tamil Nadu (Sattankulam), Karnataka (Humnabad), Maharashtra (Bhokarden) and Assam (Ratabari).

The Election Commission has deferred the bypoll to Poreyahat Assembly constituency in Jharkhand to March 24.

The postponement has been necessitated in view of police force in the state going on strike and a section of Home Guards also deciding the strike. The counting of votes is expected on March 27.

PTI