Assam assembly poll: Darrang district all set for D-Day on April 1

OUR CORRESPONDENT

MANGALDAI: In the ensuing assembly poll scheduled in Darrang district in the second phase on the first day of April, the district will witness a total of 50 polling stations (PS) as 'all-women polling stations' in which all the poll personnel, from the Presiding Officers to the Polling Officers to the personnel in uniform, will be females.

Mangaldai (SC) LAC with 40 all-women PS will be followed by 66 Sipajhar LAC with 8, 68 Dalgaon LAC with only 2 while 65 Kalaigaon LAC has been left untouched by this scheme.

The Darrang district, under the overall guidance of Deputy Commissioner-cum-District Election Officer (DEO) Dilip Kumar Borah, is all set for April 1 as all the four Legislative Assembly Constituencies (LACs), namely 65 Kalaigaon, 66 Sipajhar, 67 Mangaldai (SC) and 68 Dalgaon will go to polls on that day.

A total of 8,38,958 electorates in the district are eligible to cast their votes, for which a total of 1,201 polling stations spanning across the four constituencies, with 67 Mangaldai (SC) accounting for the highest share with 292 polling stations (PS), followed by 68 Dalgaon (277 PS), 65 Kalaigaon (264 PS) and 66 Sipajhar (258 PS), have been prepared by the administration. A significant angle of the polling this time is the option of the postal ballot for senior citizens above the age of 80 years, specially-abled and corona positive individuals.

Of the 8, 38,958 electors on the roll, male gender accounts for 4, 26,933 while female electors account for 4,12,009. On the other hand, there are 16 transgender electors. Of the total electorates, 68 Dalgaon LAC has the highest share with 2,40,684 electorates (male 1,22,773, female 1,17,905, transgender 6), followed by 67 Mangaldai (SC) LAC with a total of 2,36,985 electorates (male 1,20,051, female 1,16,932, transgender 2), 65 Kalaigaon LAC with a total of 1,83,507 electorates (male 92,879, female 90,627, transgender 1) and 66 Sipajhar LAC with a total of 1,77,782 electorates (male 91,230, female 86,545, transgender 7) respectively.

Moreover, a total of 5,768 polling personnel, of which 1,442 are presiding officers, have been drafted and are being imparted necessary training at different venues in the district headquarters. A total of 358 polling station have been termed as 'critical' with 68 Dalgaon LAC leading the pack with 232, followed by 124 in 67 Mangaldai (SC) LAC, 42 in 65 Kalaigaon LAC and 20 in 66 Sipajhar LAC respectively. No polling station has been termed as 'sensitive' in any of the four LACs.

Various cells, namely Media & Communication Cell, Media Certification & Monitoring Committee (MCMC) cell, Transport Cell, Manpower Management Cell, among others, formed as per the guidelines of the Election Commission of India (ECI), are functioning in a full-fledged manner for smooth conduct of elections in the district for the past few weeks, under the overall guidance of the DEO.

The ECI appointed a five-member observer team consisting of two general observers, two expenditures observers and one police observer. They have already assumed charges and are monitoring all aspects of the upcoming election to ensure that elections are conducted according to the directives laid down by the ECI.

A total of 32 candidates are in the fray for the four seats in the election district, of which 14 are contesting in 65 Kalaigaon LAC, 9 in 66 Sipajhar LAC and 4 in 67 Mangaldai (SC) LAC while 5 candidates are contesting in the 68 Dalgaon LAC.

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