Campaign Ends for Khonsa West Assembly by-poll

Our Correspondent

Itanagar: The heat and dust of electioneering for the by-poll to Khonsa West Assembly seat in Arunachal Pradesh came to an end on Saturday evening before 48 hours of polling on October 21. A total of 10,185 electorates including 5,226 voters will exercise their franchise in 23 polling stations of the constituency to decide the fate of two independent candidates in the fray.

The election campaign in the constituency remained a low key affair despite both the candidates trying their best to woo voters through various public rallies and door to door campaign.

Tirap superintendent of police Kardak Riba said that adequate security forces, including 12 companies of paramilitary forces, IRBn and State police under the supervision of two SPs have been deployed to ensure free and fair polling.

According to Riba, ten deputy superintendents of police (DSPs), along with 16 inspectors and 26 sub-inspectors, have also been deployed at different locations.

The constituency will ink a political record as it would witness a straight contest between two independent candidates – Chakat Aboh and Azet Hamtok.

Five political parties including ruling BJP, Congress, National People’s Party (NPP), Peoples’ Party of Arunachal (PPA) and Janata Dal United (JDU) in a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Pema Khandu on September 28 last, had decided to field Chakat Aboh, wife of former lawmaker Tirong Aboh, as an independent candidate and no party would field candidate.

Counting of votes would be held on Oct 24 next. By-election to the seat was necessitated after Tirong Aboh and 10 others were allegedly killed by NSCN militants at Bogapani on May 21. However, he had won the election whose result was announced on May 23 this year.

Aboh was on his way to his constituency from Dibrugarh in Assam.

The Arunachal Pradesh government had decided to hand over the case to the NIA to investigate into the matter on June this year and accordingly on August 16 last, the NIA arrested Yangte Josaham, a self-styled Lieutenant of National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN-IM) and another one, in connection with the murder of Tirong Aboh.

The law enforcement agency arrested the 45-year-old from Nagaland’s Dimapur district in a joint operation with a local Military Intelligence (MI) unit.

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