PUDUCHERRY: Brisk polling was witnessed in Puducherry on Thursday with 37.06 per cent of the electorate casting their votes till 11 am.

As the NDA is fighting to retain power, the opposition Congress-led bloc is pushing to wrest power from the AINRC-led front in the union territory, centering its campaign on local autonomy and administrative friction.

From the moment voting began at 7 am, there was a steady rise in voter turnout.

Rural constituencies, particularly, were vibrant, with elderly citizens and women making a beeline to their respective polling stations to exercise their franchise.

In a modern twist, the election department deployed a robot in a booth to welcome voters with flower petals and a message on the importance of voting.

AINRC chief and Chief Minister N Rangaswamy arrived at the polling station on his bike to exercise his franchise.

Puducherry Home Minister A Namassivayam and Congress leader V Narayanasamy were among the early voters.

Notable voters included a saivite monk who cast the ballot at a booth in Raj Bhavan Assembly constituency and an octogenarian who walked to the polling station in the heart of the town.