Lok Sabha Polls: In Assam, 35 Candidates Jostle For Over 86 Lakh Votes

A total of 35 candidates will contest from five Lok Sabha constituencies in Assam - Kaziranga, Sonitpur, Lakhimpur, Dibrugarh and Jorhat - in the first phase of polling on Friday. The total number of voters in the first phase is 86,47,869. Of these, 42,82,887 are male, 43,64,859 female and 123 voters of the third gender, the Assam State Election Commission said on Thursday.

Addressing a presser ahead of the first phase of polling, the Chief Electoral Officer in Assam, Anurag Goel gave an overview. Voting is set to begin from 7 am and conclude at 5 pm tomorrow, he said.

Out of the 10,001 polling stations to witness voting in the first phase, 92 have been identified as model polling stations. There are 11 polling stations being run by differently-abled persons in Assam, while 752 are being operated by women.

A whopping 40,004 polling-presiding officers have been deployed for the first phase of elections with 10,001 each of VVPATs, ballot units and control units in use for the first phase in Assam.

Out of the 35 candidates vying for votes in the first phase in Assam, 11 candidates are from Kaziranga, eight from Sonitpur, nine from Lakhimpur, three from Dibrugarh, and four from Jorhat Lok Sabha constituencies.

Meanwhile, campaigning for the first phase of elections came to an end today.

Poll preparedness in Assam

The Chief Electoral Officer of Assam has already completed all preparations so that free, fair, and peaceful elections can be held in the state.

In each Lok Sabha constituency, all matters related to elections are being closely monitored by the Central Observers (General and Expenditure) appointed by the Election Commission of India as well as micro-observers appointed by the Chief Electoral Officer of Assam.

As per directives from the Election Commission of India to successfully conduct peaceful elections in Assam, live monitoring and webcasting at all polling centers in the first phase of elections have been set up. This webcasting system has been implemented in 5,509 polling centers. In addition, facilities such as clean water, toilets, adequate electricity supply, and specially designed ramps and wheelchair arrangements for disabled and elderly voters have been provided in all polling centers. Furthermore, voter helpline apps, KYC apps, and C VIGIL apps have been provided to assist voters in casting their votes,

In order to strengthen the democratic system of the country by exercising the right to vote, various awareness programs have been taken up in the villages and urban areas under SVEEP, that is, Systematic Voting and Participation Programs in the election process in Assam. Over 45 lakh women from SHGs of Assam State Urban Livelihoods Mission and Assam State Rural Livelihood Mission have provided systematic voting training to voters in villages and urban areas under the name of 'Sarathi Baideo', along with other facilities. The appointment of Siddharth Sharma, Dwipjyoti Keont and specially abled icon Rakesh Banik as state icons has attracted and made voters aware of voting.

Assam's Chief Electoral Officer Anurag Goel also appealed to all voters to vote and participate in the democratic system.

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