Guwahati, April 4 (IANS) Voting has begun for the first phase of assembly elections in 62 of the 126 assembly seats in Assam Monday, officials said.

An election official said voting began at 7 a.m. in all the 62 assembly constituencies in 13 Assam districts.

Voting will continue till 3 p.m. in about 11,000 polling stations.

"We expect free and fair polling with adequate security arrangements made," the election official said.
People in large numbers queued up before polling booths well before voting opened.

An estimated 485 candidates are in the fray for the first phase vote of whom 38 are women candidates.

The Congress and the BJP has fielded 62 candidates each for the first phase, while the AGP has put up 51 nominees. There are 157 independent candidates in the fray for the first phase.

The second phase vote April 11 in 64 seats would decide the fate of 496 candidates. Results are due May 13.

Among the prominent candidates whose fate would be sealed in the first phase vote include Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi, Power Minister Pradyut Bordoloi, state president of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Ranjit Dutta, and senior Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) leader Brindaban Goswami.