New Delhi [India], April 9 (ANI): Voters across Assam, Kerala, and Puducherry turned out in massive numbers on Thursday for high-stakes assembly elections.

According to the Election Commission's data at 5 PM, the participation rate of Puducherry leads with 86.92 per cent, followed closely by Assam at 84.42 per cent, and Keralam at 75.01 per cent.

Key leaders, including Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma and Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan, were among the early voters. Puducherry Chief Minister N Rangaswamy also cast his vote, maintaining his long-standing tradition of riding his motorcycle to the polling booth.

Voting is being held for 126 seats in Assam, 140 in Keralam, and 30 in Puducherry. Votes will be counted on May 4.

In Keralam, over 2.6 crore electors are eligible to decide the fate of 883 candidates across 140 constituencies. Of the 2,69,53,644 registered voters across the state, there are 1,38,27,319 women voters, and the number of male voters stands at 1,31,26,048. Officials said that there are 277 third gender voters in the state.

Nearly 4,24,518 voters fall in the 18-19 age group, while 2,04,608 voters are aged 85 years and above. To facilitate safe and secure polling, a total of 30,471 polling stations have been set up.

In Assam, more than 2.5 crore electors are eligible to exercise their franchise for the 126-member legislative assembly. There are 722 candidates in the fray. Of 2,50,54,463 electors, 1,25,31,552 are male voters and 1,25,22,593 females. There are 318 Transgender voters and 63,423 service voters.

Among the electorate, 6,42,314 voters are in the age group of 18-19 years, 2,50,006 are above 80 years of age, and 2,05,085 are persons with disabilities.

To strengthen the monitoring mechanism, webcasting facilities have been arranged in accordance with the Commission's directions, a release said. Webcasting has been enabled in all 31,490 polling stations, including 31,486 main polling stations and four auxiliary polling stations. A total of 1,51,132 polling personnel have been deployed for the conduct of the election.

For polling purposes, 41,320 Ballot Units, 43,975 Control Units, and 43,997 VVPAT machines have been arranged, including reserves for emergency use. Additional polling personnel have also been kept in readiness, if required.

In Puducherry, 10,14,070 electors are eligible to cast their votes for 30 seats in the Legislative Assembly. The electorate includes 5,39,125 female voters, 4,74,788 male voters, and 157 voters belonging to the third gender category. A total of 24,156 voters are in the age group of 18-19 years. (ANI)