ARUNACHAL PRADESH: The state of Arunachal Pradesh is all set for the crucial Lok Sabha elections inspite of the projected rainfall that could affect voter turnout. On Friday, voters are ready to cast their votes in order to elect two Lok Sabha MPs and 50 MLAs, marking an important electoral event in the state of Arunachal Pradesh.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has successfully secured a total of 10 of the 60 Assembly constituencies uncontested. Union minister for land and science Kiren Rijiju and state Congress president Nabam Tuki are the prominent contenders for the Arunachal West parliamentary seat. Meanwhile, the Arunachal East seat is witnessing a contest between BJP MP Tapir Gao and state congress vice-president Bosiram Siram.
The voting commenced at 7 a.m. and end at 5 p.m., with inclement weather. The India Meteorological Department has forecast light to heavy rains on polling day. The Election Commission has set up basic-equipped temporary shelters at polling stations to accommodate voters in case of inclement weather.
Special arrangements have been made for 5,596 persons with disabilities (PwDs) including transportation to polling stations and roads for their accessibility
Over 8,92,694 people, including 4,54,256 women, are eligible to participate in the electoral process. They will decide the fate of 133 candidates for the Assembly elections and those contesting 14 Lok Sabha seats. Security arrangements have been beefed up with the deployment of 70 companies of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) along with state police to ensure peaceful polls.
Since the election was announced, the state witnessed 36 law and order incidents that resulted in one death and 33 injuries. The BJP is contesting from all 60 seats in the Assembly seats, followed by the Congress with 19 elected candidates, the National People's Party (NPP) with 20, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) with 14 and the People's Party of Arunachal with 11 candidates. In addition, there are 14 competitors for the drug.
In the 2019 elections, the BJP won two Lok Sabha seats and dominated the Assembly with 41. Other important winners were the JD(U) which won seven seats, the NPP five seats, the Congress four and the PPA and independents who won seats one and two
Despite challenges posed by weather and infrastructure constraints, Arunachal Pradesh is gearing up for crucial elections that will determine its political landscape for the foreseeable future.
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