Women outnumber men in bypolls to three Meghalaya Assembly seats

SHILLONG: Known as a matrilineal society, women voters in Meghalaya outnumber their male counterparts in the October 30 by-elections to three Assembly seats in the state.

Election officials said that of the total 1,02,695 electorate in the three Assembly seats -- Mawryngkneng, Rajabala and Mawphlang -- 53,106 are female voters and 49,589 are male voters.

The bypolls to the three Assembly seats were necessitated following the deaths of three sitting MLAs -- David A Nongrum (Congress, Mawryngkneng), Azad Zaman (UDP, Rajabala) and Syntar Klas Sunn (Independent, Mawphlang).

Meghalaya Chief Electoral Officer F.R. Kharkongor said that two additional companies of Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) have been sought for conducting the by-elections.

While the ruling National People's Party (NPP) and the main opposition Congress fielded candidates in all the three seats, the BJP, which is a constituent of the NPP-dominated Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA), has fielded candidate in Rajabala.

In all, 13 candidates, including nominees of the local parties, have entered the fray to contest the by-elections.

Five candidates each are contesting from Mawryngkneng and Rajabala, while three aspirants are in the race in Mawphlang.

The counting of votes will take place on November 2. (IANS)

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