Elections 2014: Herd of wild elephants disrupt movement of election officials in Meghalaya

A herd of wild elephants block polling officials from visiting two polling booths in the state of Meghalaya as voting picks up for the two Lok Sabha polls  

Shillong: Voting picked up on Wednesday for the two Lok Sabha seats in Meghalaya despite being temporarily disrupted by a herd of wild elephants.

Representational pic

A herd of wild elephants, disrupted movement of election officials to two polling booths - Nokchi and Halchatti - under Tura.

"Wild elephants blocked the road disrupting movement of sector election officials to two polling booths - Nokchi and Halchatti," South West Garo Hills District Magistrate Ram Singh told IANS.

The road was cleared as forest guards chased away the elephants into the forest.

The ruling Congress in the state is pitted against fractured regional parties for the two Lok Sabha seats in the mountainous state. Eight of the 10 candidates are crorepatis.

Of the total 15,67,241 electors, 22.62 percent are in the 18-25 age group, while 50.43 percent are women. Tura has 5,86,501 voters while the Shillong seat will be decided by 9,80,740 electors.

In Shillong, there are eight candidates, including lone woman candidate Ivoryna Shylla, who is fighting as an independent.

"Exciting news! Mid-day is now on WhatsApp Channels Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!