Itanagar, Dec 14 (UNI) Arunachal Pradesh is fully prepared for the general elections to the Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) and two urban local bodies in Itanagar and Pasighat on Monday.
Polling is scheduled to begin at 7 am and continue till 4 pm, according to the State Election Commission (SEC).
A senior SEC official said that voters in the queue at the closing time will be allowed to cast their votes after being issued voting slips.
Even before polling, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has secured a significant advantage, with a record number of candidates elected unopposed.
The Saffron party has won four out of 20 seats in the Itanagar Municipal Corporation (IMC), and 58 out of 245 Zilla Parishad Constituencies, and 5,037 Gram Panchayat Members (GPMs) seats across the State without a single vote being polled. One candidate from the Meghalaya CM Conrad Sangma-led National People’s Party (NPP) won ZP seat.
The State Election Commission has confirmed that a substantial number of constituencies recorded only a single nomination.
SEC Secretary Taru Talo said that 5,857 out of 8,182 Gram Panchayat constituencies received just one nomination, leading to unopposed elections across political parties, post scrutiny and withdrawal of nominations.
Polling will be held for the remaining PRI and IMC seats, and the eight Pasighat Municipal Council (PMC) wards tomorrow. Counting of votes is scheduled for December 20.
A total of 440 candidates are in the fray for 186 Zilla Parishad seats, while 39 candidates will contest 16 IMC wards and 21 candidates eight PMC wards.
The SEC has said that 13 Gram Panchayat constituencies received no nominations, while nominations in 14 others were rejected during scrutiny.
Polling in the Dumba Singpho Gram Panchayat constituency has been countermanded following the death of a validly nominated candidate.
As many as 8,31,648 voters — including 7,59,210 for rural polls and 72,438 for civic polls — are eligible to exercise their franchise across 2,171 polling stations for Panchayat elections, 67 for IMC and 12 for the PMC.
Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) will be used for Municipal polls, while ballot boxes will be deployed for Panchayat elections, the State poll panel said.
