Arunachal Pradesh: Stage set for panchayat, civic polls today

OUR CORRESPONDENT

ITANAGAR: The stage is set for elections to the panchayati raj institutions and civic bodies of Itanagar and Pasighat in Arunachal Pradesh, with the deployment of over 40,000 personnel to ensure the smooth conduct of the polls on Monday, officials said.

Polling will begin at 7 am and continue till 4 pm, State Election Commissioner (SEC) Rinchin Tashi said.

The ruling BJP won 58 zilla parishad constituencies unopposed, while the National People's Party (NPP) bagged one seat. Four saffron party candidates were also elected unopposed to the Itanagar Municipal Corporation (IMC).

Altogether, 5,037 BJP candidates for gram panchayat seats have also been declared elected unopposed. In total, 440 candidates are in the fray for 186 zilla parishad seats, while 39 are contesting for 16 IMC wards and 21 for eight wards in the Pasighat Municipal Council (PMC).

The SEC said 13 gram panchayat constituencies received no nominations, while all nominations in 14 gram panchayat constituencies were rejected during scrutiny. Polling in the Dumba Singpho gram panchayat seat has been countermanded following the death of a candidate.

Altogether, 8,31,648 voters - including 7,59,210 for panchayat bodies and 72,438 for municipal elections - are eligible to cast their ballots. There will be 2,171 polling stations for panchayat elections, 67 for the IMC and 12 for the PMC, the SEC said.

In the panchayat polls, female voters outnumber male voters, Tashi said.

Upper Subansiri district has the highest number of panchayat voters at 58,764, while Dibang Valley has the lowest at 3,854 electors. In the municipal polls, Itanagar's Ward 19 has the highest number of voters at 5,106, whereas Pasighat's Ward 6 has the lowest, with 812 voters. The State Election Commission has deployed over 40,000 personnel, including 15,000 polling staffers, to ensure the smooth conduct of the polls.

The commission has also appointed 29 general observers, one for each district and the two municipal bodies. Special security measures are in force in the sensitive districts of Tirap, Changlang and Longding, Tashi said. Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) will be used for municipal polls, while ballot boxes will be used for panchayat voting. Counting of votes will be held on December 20.

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