Dhemaji, Dec. 15: Elections to the Deori and Thengal Kachari autonomous councils in Assam today saw over 70 per cent voter turnout which made the BJP cheer and say the people had voted for change.

Both the councils spread across districts of Upper Assam and north bank were being ruled by the Congress during the past five years.

An official communiqué issued by the state election commissioner this evening stated that the voter turnout in Deori council is 76.03 per cent followed by 71.93 in Thengal Kachari council.

The commission said the polls went off peacefully.

Dimbeswar Deori, 70, of Dhunaguri village under Dhemaji district after casting his vote said representatives of the Deori autonomous council have not done anything good for the people in the past five years. "We have decided to vote for change this time."

It was second elections to the two autonomous councils today. The last polls were held in June 2010.

Counting will be held on Saturday from 8am till the completion of the process.

The number of electorates in the Deori autonomous council is around 40,000 who voted at 100 polling stations.

In the Thengal Kachari autonomous council election, 78,000 voters cast their mandate at 152 polling stations.

The poll expenditure to the Deori autonomous council was around Rs 1.39 crore, while it was Rs 1.55 crore for the Thengal Kachari autonomous council.

Tension gripped a polling station at Bihpuria in Kachikata of Lakhimpur district under Deori autonomous council constituency when Jimochya People Party forced some voters to cast their mandate twice.

At Bangalmara Indira Gandhi LP School under Thengal Kachari autonomous council polling station, a woman proxy voted, which was spotted by a polling agent when the woman came to cast her vote. But the district administration managed to sort out the problem.