Stage set for simultaneous LS and assembly polls in Arunachal

ITANAGAR — Stage is set for simultaneous elections to Lok Sabha and assembly in Arunachal Pradesh on Friday as the Election Commission has made elaborate security arrangements in the frontier state.

Officials on Thursday said that voting for the two Lok Sabha seats — Arunachal West and Arunachal East — along with 50 assembly constituencies will be held on Friday under a tight security cover.

Of the total 60 assembly constituencies in the state, elections will be held in 50 seats as BJP candidates including Chief Minister Pema Khandu (Mukto seat) and Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein (Chowkham seat), have won unopposed in 10 seats.

Election officials said that the first batch of over 40 election officials accompanied by security personnel along with election-related materials including Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), were airlifted by an MI-172 chopper to four remote polling stations in Arunachal Pradesh’s Kra Daadi district on April 15 to conduct voting on Friday.

However, the majority of the polling and security personnel left for their destinations on Wednesday and Thursday.

In all, 11,130 polling officials have been deployed to conduct the elections while 6,874 Electronic Voting Machines will be used for the polls.

On the advice of the Election Commission, the Union Home Ministry has provided 80 companies (7500 personnel) of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) while thousands of state security force personnel have been deployed to maintain the law and order situation.

A total of 8.92,694 voters, including 4,54,256 women, will decide the fate of 133 candidates contesting for the 50 assembly seats, and 14 candidates vying for the two Lok Sabha seats.

Of the 133 candidates, 50 have been fielded by the ruling BJP, 19 by the opposition Congress, 14 by the Nationalist Congress Party (Ajit Pawar), 20 by the National People’s Party (NPP), 11 by the People’s Party of Arunachal and the remaining by the other local parties and Independents.

Though 14 candidates are contesting in the two Lok Sabha seats, the main contest is expected to be between Union minister Kiren Rijiju and state Congress President and former chief minister Nabam Tuki for the Arunachal West seat. In the Arunachal East seat, the main fight would be between the BJP’s sitting MP Tapir Gao and the Congress’ Bosiram Siram, a former minister and state Congress Vice-President.

The NPP led by Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma put up 20 candidates in the Arunachal Pradesh assembly elections, and announced its support to the BJP Lok Sabha candidates in the state — Kiren Rijiju and Tapir Gao.

Rijiju is seeking re-election for a fourth term.

In the Arunachal West Parliamentary seat, eight candidates are in the fray while six aspirants are vying for the Arunachal East Parliamentary seat.

The over-a-month-long hectic campaigning for the simultaneous Lok Sabha and assembly elections in the northeastern state ended on Wednesday afternoon.

BJP President Jagat Prakash Nadda and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, NPP supremo and Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma campaigned for their respective parties in Arunachal Pradesh.

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi were scheduled to visit Arunachal Pradesh to campaign for the party candidates but they did not turn up.

Though the BJP has a solid base in the state and is ahead of the other parties in the electoral battle, two major issues — the anti-incumbency factor and Christian organisations’ open support to the Congress candidates — caused concern among the saffron party leaders.

The counting of votes for the Assembly elections will be taken up on June 2, while the results of the Lok Sabha elections will be announced on June 4.