Election Commission of India issues notification for polls in Arunachal

Our Correspondent

Itanagar: The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Monday issued notification for holding simultaneous elections to two Lok Sabha and 60 Assembly constituencies in Arunachal Pradesh on April 11.

With the model code of conduct coming into force after the ECI announced conduct of general elections in the country along with Assembly elections in a few States, the election authorities here have issued dos and don’ts to all political parties and urged all government machinery to strictly follow it.

A total of 7, 94, 162 voters, including 4, 01, 601 women, would exercise their franchise in the April 11 simultaneous polls in 2,202 polling stations spread across the State.

There are also 3,000 odd physically challenged voters in the State. This time, there are also 11 polling stations in the State that will exclusively be for women.

Polling Station no. 52 at Naharalagun, under Itanagar Assembly constituency, has the highest number of voters at 1,340, while Malogam polling station under Hayuliang constituency in remote Anjaw district bordering China has only one female voter.

Luguthang polling booth under Mukto constituency in Tawang district is the highest polling station located at an altitude of about 13,583 feet.

Eleven polling stations exclusively for female voters have also been set up in the state, the sources said. The State has 281 vulnerable polling booths and 662 critical polling stations where adequate security personnel would be deployed.

According to election office sources, photo electoral roll coverage is 99.97 per cent while voter’s photo identity card has been issued to 99.97 per cent in the State.

They said that all arrangements to conduct elections have already been completed in the State. Training of all district election officers, returning officers, assistant returning officers and various categories of nodal officers were completed by the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) office here. Training to all polling personnel has been started by the District Election Officers (DEOs), the sources said.

For the first time, Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) will be used along with electronic voting machines in all the polling stations.

For 4,964 service voters, electronically transmitted postal ballots (ETPBS) system would be used for the first time to facilitate hassle free voting.

For poll day monitoring, SMS-based poll monitor system would be used and vehicles carrying reserve EVMs will be fitted with GPS in all cellular network covered areas.

Toll free helpline number ‘1950’ has also been installed in CEO and DEO offices to handle queries related to elections, the sources added.

The last date of filing nominations has been fixed on March 25 while, scrutiny of papers would be made on March 26 and the last date of withdrawal of nominations has been fixed on March 28. Counting of votes will take place on May 23. The ensuing Assembly and Lok Sabha elections in Arunachal would witness a keen contest between the BJP, Congress, NPP, PPA and Janata Dal (Secular).

While the ruling BJP would contest the elections on developmental plank, the opposition parties are expected to use the Permanent Resident Certificate (PRC) as their trump card, besides law and order and corruption issues.

During the 2014 Lok Sabha elections in the state, Union Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju won from Arunachal West Parliamentary constituency while Ninong Ering of the Congress won the Arunachal East seat.

In the 2014 Assembly elections, the Congress had won 42 seats while the BJP succeeded in 11. The Peoples Party of Arunachal (PPA) won 5 seats while two went to independents.

Also read: Arunachal news