Correspondent
KOHIMA, SEPTEMBER 3
THE stage is set for the Noksen Assembly Constituency by-elections in Tuensang district, which will be held from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm tomorrow.
Deputy Commissioner of Tuensang and District Returning Officer Mhumbemo Lotha told this correspondent that all necessary arrangements are in place. Security for ‘free, fair and peaceful conduct’ of the polls is also in place, he said.The by-election is a straight contest between the ruling Naga People’s Front (NPF) candidate CM Chang and Indian National Congress nominee Lima Onen Chang. CM Chang is sitting Lok Sabha Member of Parliament. In March first week this year, the media reported that the MP had resigned from the Parliament to contest in the state assembly elections. The assembly polls were held on February 23.
He won the Noksen seat and got a berth in Neiphiu Rio’s Council of Ministers as Minister for School Education – only to announce his resignation, again, from his ministerial post in March again. He is supported by the alliance partners in Democratic Alliance of Nagaland (DAN) consisting of BJP and JD (U) alongside the external support of NCP and Independent MLAs.
Approximately 12, 074 voters, including 6, 142 males and 5, 832 females would exercise their franchise in 21 polling stations spread over 19 village in Noksen. With regard to security arrangements, Lotha said five additional companies of paramilitary forces have been deployed.
Of this four will be deployed in the polling booth and one for guarding the strong room. the constituency supported by the Indian Reserve Battalion, Nagaland Armed Police, one sector magistrates and commanders for the six sectors under the assembly. He also said that during the campaign the ECI had deployed one general observer, one expenditure observer and six micro observers.
For the first time in India, the Election Commission of India has introduced the high-tech voter recording system ‘Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail’ system (VVPAT) with Electronic Voting Machines for the bye-elections to Noksen. 42 new EVMS with VVPAT has already been dispatched to all the polling stations.
DC Lotha said that the training of polling personnel and the interested voters were conducted to make the new machines users friendly till yesterday. He expressed hope that polling would be held peacefully as all ‘necessary arrangements’ are in place.
Superintendent of Police of Tuensang Rupa said that six polling stations have been identified as ‘hyper-sensitive’ out of 21 stations. In the six polling stations, more than a quarter of paramilitary forces have been deployed while the rest of the polling stations have one section each of the forces. IRB personnel would be providing security in the outer periphery of the polling stations, the SP said.
She also said that the law and order situation in the constituency is normal and hoped that polling would also be conducted smoothly without any incident.
