Nomination process for Nagaland’s lone Lok Sabha seat begins

KOHIMA — The filing of nomination papers for Nagaland’s lone Lok Sabha seat commenced on Wednesday as the state will go to polls in the first phase of election scheduled for April 19.

The deadline for filing of nominations is March 27 and nominations will be received on all working days from 11 am to 3 pm.

Nagaland Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), Vyasan R, said polling will be held across 2342 polling stations in the state out of which 738 polling stations are under the eastern Nagaland areas where the tribal and student bodies, led by the Eastern Nagaland People’s Organisation (ENPO) have announced a boycott of state and central elections.

Currently, 750 odd polling stations have been identified as ‘critical’ but the number is dynamic and will go up and down, he informed.

Assured minimum facilities will be ensured in all the polling stations including availability of drinking water, signages and ramps for persons with disabilities, he added.

Addressing a press conference in Kohima on Wednesday, the CEO said that the state has 13.17 lakh voters with 6.60 lakh female voters and 6.56 lakh male voters, with positive gender ratio of 1006 female voters per 1000 male voters. Approximately 19,000 first-time voters are expected.

He said that the final draft voter roll has been published and will be finalised on March 27.

There are 16 district election officers except for Niuland and Pughoboto sub-division, which are considered as election districts.

Replying to the query about ENPO’s boycott, Vyasan said that the Election Commission of India’s (ECI) stand was to increase voter participation and expressed hope that normal functioning would resume.

Nagaland Commissioner and Returning Officer, Sushil Kumar Patel said that nominations would be accepted from Wednesday onwards. The nomination forms are to be submitted to the ARO or RO from 11 am to 3 pm on all working days except for March 23, 24 and the 25th which are holidays. Once nominations are received, there will be scrutiny on March 28.

Service voters, those on duty outside the state, citizens aged 85 and above and persons with disabilities can cast their votes via postal ballots, Patel informed.

State Police Nodal Officer, Limasunep Jamir, Inspector General of Police (Range), discussed security preparations including the deployment of additional forces and vehicle checks.

He said that the state has received five Border Security Force (BSF) companies and one company each has been sent to Kohima, Dimapur, Wokha, Zunheboto and Mokokchung. An additional 43 companies are arriving to the state soon.

The state police force including the NAP, IRB and the Home Guards are also gearing up to ensure security. Right after the announcement of the model code of conduct, the police officers from the DGP down to the last rank are on deputation to the Election Commission of India for the process of election, he added.

The classification from the security point of view has already been done. Accordingly, it would provide security personnel to assist the polling personnel in reaching their destination to conduct the voting, Jamir added.

“Given the lone Parliamentary Constituency in the state, the level of violence and intensity is far less compared to the state assembly election. Nonetheless, we will be on our guard and will monitor and deliver our duties,” he assured and called for cooperation from the public to ensure peaceful conduct of the election.

He further informed that there will be vehicle checks in all the districts and search will be conducted by state police and CAPFs in multiple locations.

Social media monitoring is going on from the Police Headquarters, he said, adding that the Nagaland Police can deal with any kind of fake news or rumour-mongering that can affect the credibility of the electioneering process.

As for the eastern Nagaland areas, he said that they have projected additional manpower requirements considering the emerging dynamic and also apprised the Home department and the CEO of the requirements.

He added that they are exploring various scenarios but remain optimistic that the election process will not be disturbed and will go on smoothly.

Jamir went on to state that there have been seizures in Dimapur since the model code of conduct came into effect. Stating that monitoring will be intensified, he reminded that the expenditure limit for a candidate in the state is INR 95 lakh and any carrying of cash exceeding INR 50,000 will be subject to seizure unless accompanied by evidence or documentation justifying its possession.