984 Polling Stations Set Up in Hojai’s Three Constituencies for Assam Assembly Polls

Guwahati: A total of 984 polling stations have been set up across three Assembly constituencies in Assam’s Hojai district as part of preparations for the upcoming state Assembly elections, official said.

Addressing a press conference, Hojai Deputy Commissioner Deba Prasad Misra said the arrangements were being made in accordance with the schedule announced by the Election Commission of India for the Assembly polls.

According to the district administration, the 984 polling stations are distributed across the three constituencies of Binnakandi, Hojai and Lumding. Of these, 345 polling stations are located in Binnakandi, 316 in Hojai and 323 in Lumding.

Misra said three Additional Deputy Commissioners have been appointed as Returning Officers for the three constituencies to oversee the electoral process.

"Nomination papers of contesting candidates will be accepted at the Deputy Commissioner’s office in Sankardev Nagar in Hojai in line with the guidelines of the Election Commission. The nominations will be received between 11 am and 3 pm," he added.

He further informed that separate rooms have been earmarked at the Deputy Commissioner’s office for the three constituencies — Room No. 7 for Binnakandi, Room No. 12 for Hojai and Room No. 17 for Lumding.

The Deputy Commissioner also said that training for polling personnel has already been conducted at six educational institutions across the district as part of the election preparedness.

Officials engaged in election duty will be able to cast their votes through the postal ballot facility. In addition, voters aged 85 years and above will have the option of casting their votes from home with prior approval.

According to the administration, more than 3,000 voters in the district who are above 85 years of age will be eligible to avail the home voting facility through Form 12D, with Booth Level Officers collecting the votes from their residences. However, they may also choose to vote at their designated polling stations if they prefer.

While no polling stations in the district have been categorised as sensitive, the administration has identified 181 polling stations as critical and said necessary security arrangements will be made.

He further said that each of the three constituencies will also have one model polling station.

"In addition, women-managed polling stations staffed entirely by female polling personnel will be set up to encourage greater participation in the electoral process," he said.

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