Shillong: Meghalaya is all set for polling in 59 of the 60 assembly seats where more than 21.6 lakh voters will seal the fate of 369 candidates on Monday, as the ruling National People’s Party will fight to retain power, while the BJP and Trinamool Congress will attempt to unseat the incumbent government from power.
Chief Electoral Officer F R Kharkongor said preparations for conducting a free, fair and peaceful election have been completed.
Meghalaya Polls: Key Details
- Polling will begin at 7 am in 3,419 booths and will continue till 4 pm.
- As many as 640 polling booths have been categorised as ‘vulnerable’ and 323 as ‘critical’.
- Thirty-six of the 369 candidates are women.
- The highest of 10 women nominees have been put up by the Congress.
- Polling in Sohiong constituency has been adjourned due to the death of one of the candidates.
- The NPP, which has been leading the ruling alliance for the last five years, is fighting alone against former ally BJP, opposition TMC, and other regional parties such as the United Democratic Party and People’s Democratic Front.
- The Voice of the People’s Party, contesting in 18 assembly constituencies in the Khasi Jaintia Hills region, has attracted large crowds in its rallies and hopes to win several seats.
- Over 19,000 polling personnel and 119 companies of CAPFs have been deployed in polling stations. They have been backed by state police personnel to maintain law and order
- The international border with Bangladesh has also been sealed.
Nagaland Assembly Election: Key Details
Triangular to multi-cornered contests are on the cards in 59 of the 60 Nagaland Assembly constituencies, which go to the polls on Monday under a massive security measure.
BJP candidate Kazheto Kinimi was re-elected unopposed from the Akuluto Assembly constituency after his only opponent and Congress nominee Khekashe Sumi withdrew his candidature on the last day of the withdrawal of nominations on February 10.
The voting would start at 7 a.m. in the morning and it would continue till 4 p.m. without any break in 16 districts.
Nagaland Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) V. Shashank Shekhar said that over 11,500 polling staff accompanied by security personnel have already reached 2,315 polling stations in 59 Assembly constituencies.
According to the election officials, around 13 lakh voters, including 6,55,144 women would decide the electoral fate of 183 candidates, including four women nominees in Monday’s elections.
In the 2018 Assembly polls, 190 candidates, including five women, had contested the elections.
To ensure a free, fair and incident-free election, the Union Home Ministry, at the request of the state government, has provided 305 companies of Central Armed Police Force, while the state security forces have also been deployed across the mountainous state.
In all, 12 political parties comprising national and state parties are in the fray.
The ruling Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP) is contesting the election on 40 seats while its partner the BJP has fielded candidates on 20 seats.
The Congress has given tickets to 23 candidates, while the Naga People’s Front is contesting 22 seats.
Other parties, including the RJD, Ram Vilas Paswan faction of the LJP, National People’s Party headed by Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma, and the NCP are also in the fray.
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