06 -2 : Recent State Assembly Elections in India : How Big a Setback for the Congress?
Dr Maathai Mathiyazhagan
8 March 2007
I
n
February 2007, the Indian
state
s of Punjab, Uttarakhand (formerly Uttaranchal)
and
Man
ipur
held their
state
a
ssembly elections.
Manipur and Punjab witnessed a high voter
turnout.
The
Punjab elections registered
74.3 per cent
turnout
which was
about
10 per cent
higher than that
in the
last assembly election in 2002.
Similarly, Manipur had a
turnout of 75
per cent in the first phase and 80 per cent in the final phase of the election. However,
the
percentage of vote
s
polled in the Uttarakhand
reduced
by
nearly 10 per cent
when
compared
to
the 2002 elections
.