ASSAM GEARS UP FOR 1ST PHASE OF PANCHAYAT POLLS TODAY.
OVER ONE LAKH SECURITY PERSONNEL have been deployed for the smooth conduct of theelections during the first phase, with 1, 56,255 civil servants engaged in the poll process.
Altogether 442
candidateshave already been
declaredwinners uncontested
In the
election districts
going to polls Wednesday.
they said. adding. 250 of them
are from
the BJP, 106 from
the Congress, 15 from the AGP, three from the AIUDF.
three from
the BPF, besides 65
independents. Over one lakh security personnel have been deployed for the
smooth conduct of theelections during the
first phase, with 1,56,255 civil servants also engaged in the poll process, the
ASEC sourcessaid. Assam
government employees engaged as polling officials on Tuesday tanned out to
their respective assigned voting stations across the state with ballot boxes
and other election materials.
Campaigning for the
first phase of panchayat polls.
which ended on
Monday. Saw the coalition partners voicing
sharp words for each
other. AGP accused the BJP of
attempting to impose
the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2016, in Assam which they said threatened the
existence and identity of indigenous people by settling Hindu Bangladeshis in
the state, while the saffron party claimed the regional party piggy rode on its
back to come
to power during the
Assembly elections. The opposition
Congress and the
AIUDF also campaigned hard for votes.
The Wednesday
electionsfor the local bodies would be
the first after the
state government introduced amendtiments In the Panchayat Act determining
varied minimum qualifications at different levels, Imposing two-child norm for
the candidates
and also Introducing
toilet at home a mandatory clause
for the nominees. As
per the new norms for qualification
under the Assam
Panchayat (Amendment) Act, 2018. for
general candidates,
the educational qualification to contest polls for gaon panchayat member is to
pass Class 6. for gaon panchayat presid
ent and anchalik
panchayat member It Is Class 10 and for zila parishad member It Is Class 12,
besides mandatorily having a toilet at home
A person having more
than two living children, with the
third child born
after commencement of the Act, cannot
contest the pollsThe
panchayatl raj Institutions In Assam is a three- tier one with a village,
intermediate and district level comprising 21 ida parlshads, 185 and chalik
panchayats and 2,201 gaon panchayats.
Altogether 1. 56,
41,456 voters, including 7,51.7621 tamales, are expected to exercise their
franchise in the two-phased elections to be
held on Wednesday
and on December 9. For both the phases, there would be 23.506 polling stations
with 11.597 of them categorised as comparatively safe, 8,243 sensitive and
3,665 very sensitive, the
sources said. The
counting of votes will
take place on
December 12.
