Stage set for 1st phase of LS Polls 2019
New Delhi, April 11: The stage is set for polling in the first phase of Lok Sabha elections today.
91 Parliamentary constituencies spread over 18 states and two union territories will go to polls in this phase. The voting time in most of the Parliamentary Constituencies going to polls in the first phase is from 7 AM to 6 PM. However, in Left-Wing extremism-affected areas and the North Eastern States, the timings vary.
All parliamentary constituencies of Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, Andaman and Nicobar and Lakshadweep, Telangana and Uttarakhand will go to polls in this phase. Besides, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jammu and Kashmir, Maharashtra, Manipur, Odisha, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal will also vote in this phase.
Simultaneous voting will also take place for single phase Assembly elections in Andhra Pradesh, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh and for 28 of 147 seats in Odisha.
In Andhra Pradesh, election to all 25 Lok Sabha seats and 175 Assembly seats will take place today. Chief Electoral Officer, Gopal Krishna said that all arrangements have been made to conduct free and fair elections. Prominent among those in the fray for Lok Sabha polls are Vyricherla Kishore Chandra Deo, P. Ashokgajapathi Raju, Kinjarapu Rammohannaidu, Galla Jayadev, Rayapati Sambasiva Rao, Kotla Suryaprakash Reddy and Panabaka Lakshmi. Prominent faces among those in the fray for assembly elections are N. Chandrababu Naidu, Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy, Pawan Kalyan and Dharmana Prasada Rao.
In Telangana, voting will be held in all 17 Lok Sabha constituencies today. 443 candidates including 25 women are in the fray. State Chief Electoral Officer Dr Rajat Kumar informed media that all arrangements are in place to ensure free and fair polling. In Nizamabad, where 185 candidates are in the contest, additional poll staff and hundreds of engineers have been pressed into service.
In Assam, polling will be held for Lakhimpur, Tezpur, Kaliabor, Dibrugarh and Jorhat seats in this phase. Additional CEO Vivekanand Phukan said all measures have been taken to conduct smooth polling today. He said armed forces have been deployed at all polling stations to ensure security. The tight vigil is being maintained at interstate borders and Indo- Bhutan border to avoid any untoward incidents.
In Arunachal Pradesh, about 8 lakh voters will decide the fate of 181 candidates for the 60-seat Assembly and 12 candidates for 2-seats of Lok Sabha elections today. The Assembly elections will be held for 57 seats as 3 seats have already been declared unopposed. There are 2202 polling stations in the state, out of which 643 have been identified as critical polling stations. 45 companies of Central paramilitary forces along with more than 7500 state police personnel have been deployed across the state for a smooth election process.
In Meghalaya, polling will be held today for two Lok Sabha Parliamentary seats- Shillong and Tura and the by-election to the Selsella Assembly constituency. In Shillong, six candidates are in the fray including candidates from the Congress, United Democratic Party and BJP besides three independent candidates. For the Tura seat, the contest will be a three-cornered battle between the Congress, NPP and BJP. Meghalaya Chief Electoral Officer, FR Kharkongor said, all arrangements have been made to ensure a free and fair election.
Sikkim Assembly elections of 32 seats will be held simultaneously with lone parliament seat of the state today. 150 candidates including nine independents are in the fray for Assembly elections. On the other hand, 11 candidates including two independents are in the fray for Sikkim Lok Sabha seat. Out of 567 polling stations, 120 have been identified as critical. Over four thousand jawans of Central Para Military Forces and state Armed and Police have been deployed to ensure free and fair polls. 39 polling stations of the state will be manned by all women polling parties and police forces.
In Mizoram, polling will be held for lone Lok Sabha seat and by-election to the Aizawl West-I seat to be held today. Six candidates are in the fray for the election to the lone ‘Mizoram’ Lok Sabha constituency while it will be a triangular contest in the Aizawl West – I assembly by-poll. Chief Electoral officer Ashish Kundra told media that 1,175 polling stations have been set up across the state. Of these, 117 Polling stations, named as Pink Polling stations will be manned by all-women staff. Besides, 15 special polling stations have been set up at Kanhmun village on Mizoram-Tripura border where displaced Bru voters living in the six relief camps in North Tripura district will cast their votes. As a security measure, the administration has sealed state’s international borders with Myanmar and Bangladesh.
In Tripura, 13 candidates are in the fray for today’s election to the Tripura West Lok Sabha constituency. Chief Electoral Officer Sriram Taranikanti said, all preparations for free and fair election are in place.
Nagaland is all set to go to polls today to elect the State’s lone Member of Parliament for the Lok Sabha seat and the by-election to the 26th Aonglenden Assembly Constituency seat under Mokokchung district.
In Manipur, polling will be held today for the ST-reserved Outer-Manipur Parliamentary Constituency. State Chief Electoral Officer P K Singh told media that special arrangements are being made for the convenience of female and physically challenged voters in all the polling stations.
In Uttar Pradesh, the Lok Sabha constituencies that will go to polls today are Ghaziabad, Gautam Buddh Nagar, Baghpat, Saharanpur, Meerut, Muzaffarnagar, Bijnor and Kairana. Electoral fate of 96 candidates including three Union ministers- Gen V K Singh, Satyapal Singh and Mahesh Sharma will be decided in this phase. Other prominent candidates in the fray include– RLD chief Ajit Singh, BJP leader Sanjeev Balyan, Congress leader Imran Masood and Tabassum Begum from SP.
In Bihar, four parliamentary constituencies are going to polls today. Polling will be held in Gaya, Aurangabad, Jamui and Nawada which are naxal affected constituencies. Due to security reasons, time of polling has been restricted till 4.00 pm in naxal affected areas while polling has been allowed till 6.00 pm in the normal areas of the four constituencies. Total 44 candidates are in fray for this phase. Former Chief Minister and head of Hindustani Awam Morcha Jitan Ram Manjhi and LJP leader Chirag Paswan are prominent figures in the first phase.
Elaborate security arrangements have been put in place. Additional Chief Electoral Officer Sanjay Kumar Singh said more than 70 lakh 30 thousand electorates are eligible to cast their vote at 7500 polling stations spread over four seats. He said, 45 thousand polling personnel have been pressed in service.
In West Bengal, all arrangements have been made for free and fair polling in Cooch Behar and Alipurduar Lok Sabha Seats today. Altogether 18 candidates are in the fray for the two Lok Sabha Seats. Security arrangements have been strengthened along Inter-state border with Assam and International border with Bhutan.
In Odisha, voting will be held for four Lok Sabha and 28 Assembly seats tomorrow. Amid unprecedented security in the Maoist affected areas of Chhattisgarh, the Bastar Lok Sabha constituency is going to poll today. Elaborate security arrangements are in place to ensure free, fair and peaceful polling.
Seven Lok Sabha seats in Vidarbha region of Maharashtra will also go to polls today. With temperatures soaring above 42 degree Celsius, voting percentage will also be a big factor in the polls.
The lone Parliamentary Constituency of Andaman and Nicobar Islands will go to polls today in the first phase of General Elections 2019. A total of 15 candidates are in the fray for the lone seat of Andaman and Nicobar Parliamentary Constituency. There are 407 polling stations in the Constituency.
In Jammu and Kashmir, Jammu and Baramulla Lok Sabha constituencies are going to polls in the first phase.
