Tura, April 19 (IANS): Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma cast his vote at Walbakgre polling station in Tura, on Friday. He stood in a queue to cast his vote.

After exercising his right to vote, Sangma said that he reached the polling station with hope to cast his vote early but was surprised to find people lined up already.

The Chief Minister drove to the polling station this morning. He appealed to people to come out and exercise their democratic right.

Meanwhile, the candidate for the ruling National People's Party (NPP) in Tura Lok Sabha seat, Agatha Sangma also cast her vote in the morning.

She said: “Generally, in parliamentary elections, we see less voter turnout in comparison to the Assembly polls. But this time, people have been coming out in large numbers to exercise their voting rights, which is a good sign.”

Agatha Sangma added that the core issue in this poll is infrastructure development in the state and providing employment to youths. She also said: “It is really encouraging to see women coming out to vote in large numbers in the early morning also. It takes a lot of effort for women to line up in the polling stations early in the morning. However, their attendance in good numbers is a positive sign for democracy.”

Two Lok Sabha seats in Meghalaya went to polls in the first phase of these general elections.