Nearly 64 per cent of 21.6 lakh electors exercised their franchise till 3 pm in the Meghalaya Assembly elections, as polling remained largely peaceful since morning, officials said on Monday.

Polling began in 59 of the 60 assembly constituencies in the northeastern state at 7 am.

“Voting has been peaceful with long queues at several polling stations,” an election official said.

He also said "no untoward incident" has been reported thus far.

"Malfunctioning of EVMs came to the fore at a few polling booths, but those were later fixed. Polling is being held in a free and fair manner," the official said.

Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma and Leader of Opposition and TMC member Mukul Sangma were seen standing in the queue to cast vote in their respective constituencies.

Polling is underway at 3,419 stations to seal the electoral fate of 369 candidates.

Voting will continue till 4 pm.

The ruling National People’s Party is fighting to retain power while the BJP, the Trinamool Congress and other regional parties are vying to bring about a change in government in Meghalaya.

Thirty-six of the 369 candidates are women, with the largest number of 10 being fielded by the Congress.

“Over 19,000 polling personnel and 119 companies of CAPFs have been deployed,” the election official said.

Conrad K Sangma is contesting from the South Tura constituency, where he is pitted against militant-turned-politician Bernard Marak, while Mukul Sangma is contesting from two seats – Songsak and Tikrikilla. His wife D D Shira is also in the fray.

The Congress and the BJP are contesting 59 seats, while the NPP has put up nominees in 56 constituencies, the TMC in 57 and the UDP in 46.

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