Meghalaya, Nagaland Assembly polls: Explosion at Tizit; top 10 developments

Voting underway in Meghalaya and Nagaland Assembly elections 2018; BJP and Congress slug it out for the Northeast

Voting in the crucial Meghalaya and Nagaland Assembly elections began on Tuesday at 7 am amid tight security, with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Congress slugging it out to see who would emerge as the more dominant party in the Northeast. Despite security being beefed up, one person was injured in a bomb blast at a polling station in Mon District's Tizit in Nagaland.

The two states have a 60-member House each. However, voting will be held only for 59 constituencies in each. Voting for the 60-member Assemblies will commence from 7 am and conclude by 4 pm, except at some polling stations in Nagaland's interior districts where the process is scheduled to be completed at 3 pm.

Encouraged by the formation of governments in Assam, Manipur, and Arunachal Pradesh, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is making a determined bid to expand its footprint in the Northeast. Meanwhile, the Assembly election's outcome in Meghalaya is particularly significant for the Congress, which has been ruling the state for the past 10 years.

The results of the polls in the two states, along with that of Tripura, will be declared on Saturday, March 3.

Here are the top 10 developments in the crucial Meghalaya and Nagaland Assembly polls:

1) Bomb blast at Nagaland polling station: One person was injured in a bomb blast at a polling station in Mon District's Tizit, in Nagaland.

2) Voting underway in both states: Amid tight security, voting for the Meghalaya Assembly elections 2018 began on Tuesday, an official said. "Men and women in large numbers queued up in front of many polling stations well before polling opened at 7 am in the entire state. Polling ends at 4 pm," Chief Electoral Officer Frederick Roy Kharkongor said.

Click Here for Nagaland election 2018