Voting for the entire 40 seats in the Mizoram Assembly, and for the 20 seats of the Chhattisgarh Assembly, has began at 8 a.m. on Tuesday amid elaborate security arrangements for peaceful elections.
In the first phase of the Chhattisgarh Assembly elections with 90 assembly seats, voting has started on 20 seats. 223 candidates are in the fray for these 20 seats, and 40,78,681 voters will exercise their franchise. Tight security arrangements have been made for all 20 polling seats, including the extremely sensitive Bastar division. where one lakh security personnel have been deployed. Voting will be held on the remaining 70 seats in the second phase on November 17.
Voting is being held for all 40 seats in Mizoram. A total of 174 candidates are in the fray for 40 seats. More than 8.57 lakh voters will decide the electoral fate of the candidates in the Mizoram Assembly elections. Voting began at 7 a.m. in Mizoram at 1276 polling stations and will continue till 4 p.m.
A total of 174 candidates are contesting the elections. All candidates have been provided with Personal Security Officers (PSOs) to ensure security. A total of 1,831 Mizoram civilian police officers, along with 2,527 Special Armed Police Force (SAPF) personnel and 2,700 Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) personnel, have been deployed across the state. Besides this, an additional 160 personnel of the Mizoram Reserve Home Guards (MRHG) have been deployed. The total deployment of security forces is thus reported to be 7,200 police.
Police said various tasks include polling station duty, sector police officers, nakas (checkpoints), inter-state border check posts, static surveillance teams, flying squads, EVM guards, observer security, security for candidates, CAPF/SAPF liaison officers, etc. Other miscellaneous bodies like the Quick Reaction Team (QRT), District Striking Force, Control Room Operations, Area Dominance, District Election Cell, PHQ Election Cell, Reserve Force, Vehicle Security, Dispatch and Receive Centre Security, Zonal Officers, and Border Sealing have gone.
Mizoram Police has urged the people of Mizoram to maintain peace and harmony during the voting process. Citizens of Mizoram have been urged to cast their vote to demonstrate responsible citizenship.
Voting began at 7 a.m. on Tuesday for all 40 assembly seats in the eastern state of Mizoram amid tight security arrangements. A lot of enthusiasm is being seen among the voters. A large number of voters reached the polling stations even before the voting started.
8,51,895 voters are going to decide the electoral fate of 174 candidates in 40 seats of the Mizoram Assembly. Of these, 16 female candidates are in the election fray. 1275 polling stations have been set up across the state.
Extensive preparations have been made for peaceful voting. Mizoram Chief Electoral Officer Madhup Vyas said that 50 companies of state police and central forces have been deployed to ensure peaceful voting. The interstate borders of Assam, Manipur, and Tripura and the international borders of Myanmar and Bangladesh have been sealed.
There is a tough electoral contest in the state between the Mizo National Front (MNF), the Zoram People’s Movement, the Congress, and the BJP. There is a MNF government in the state under the leadership of Zoramthanga. After the voting, Chief Minister Zoramthanga expressed confidence that this time there will be no hung assembly and the MNF will return to the government with a majority. He says that his party is in the NDA at the centre, but there is no alliance with any party in the state.
During the first phase of voting in the Chhattisgarh assembly elections, a CRPF jawan was injured after being hit by an IED planted by Naxalites in the Kont assembly constituency of Sukma district and has been admitted to the hospital. In the first phase, voting is being held on 20 seats in the state, with voting starting on 10 seats at 7 a.m. and ending on 10 seats at 8 a.m. Extensive security arrangements have been made in view of the voting boycott and Naxalite threats.
According to SP Kiran Chavan, on Tuesday morning, for the security of voting, Cobra 206 and CRPF personnel had gone from Camp Tondamarka towards Almagunda village in an area domination campaign. During patrolling, Cobra 206 soldier Inspector Shrikant’s foot fell on an IED planted by Naxalites, and the blast occurred. The injured jawan is being given first aid, and his condition is not in danger. (Inputs from HS)