The Election Commission of India (ECI) issued notifications on Wednesday for concurrent Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in Arunachal Pradesh, scheduled for April 19 as part of the first phase.
The state election office in Arunachal Pradesh has released distinct gazette notifications, outlining the electoral processes for 60 assembly constituencies and two Lok Sabha seats within the northeastern state.
With the issue of notification, the process of filing nominations has started, Joint Chief Electoral Officer Liken Koyu. said. Nomination papers must be filed by March 27, with scrutiny scheduled for March 28. Withdrawal of nominations can be made until March 30. The current term of the state assembly concludes on June 2
The state comprises a total of 8,86,848 eligible voters, encompassing 4,49,050 female voters, 5,740 service voters, and five third-gender voters. With 2,226 polling booths across the state, 156 will be exclusively managed by women, while 49 will be supervised by youth, and three specifically cater to persons with disabilities (PWDs).
Furthermore, there are 480 polling booths located in shadow areas, while 588 have been flagged as critical and 443 as vulnerable. The polling station No 2-Pumao Primary School under Longding assembly constituency has the highest number of voters with 1,462, while the Malogam temporary structure in Malogam village under Hayuliang constituency in Anjaw district has only one female voter.
In the 2019 elections, the ruling BJP emerged victorious in both Lok Sabha seats. In the assembly, the BJP secured 41 seats, while JD(U) won seven seats, the NPP claimed five seats, and the Congress secured four seats. Additionally, the PPA secured one seat, and two Independent candidates were successful.
The BJP has announced its candidates for all assembly seats, with Union Earth Sciences Minister Kiren Rijiju nominated for the Arunachal West Lok Sabha seat and Tapir Gao named as the candidate for the Arunachal East seat.