Manipur, 8th November: The by-polls to four Assembly constituencies in Manipur conducted on Saturday concluded peacefully with a high voter turnout of 92.54 per cent. Around 2,294 polling personnel, including security, are being stationed in the 203 polling stations spread across the four constituencies for the voting.
Manipur by-polls were necessitated after four Congress MLAs resigned from the Assembly and joined the ruling BJP. Counting of votes will be held on November 10. Voters’ turnout rate in every polling booth is reported high.
The election was conducted with strict adherence to the COVID-19 protocol issued by the Election Commission, amid tight security arrangements. Voters were seen queuing up to exercise their franchise by maintaining physical distancing and wearing hand gloves and masks. Face masks, hand sanitizers, and hand gloves were distributed in every polling booth by the ASHA and Anganwadi workers as a precautionary measure to prevent the spread of COVID-19 during elections.
For the first time, the state has introduced ‘mark-III’ electronic voting machine (EVM) and voter-verified paper audit trail (VVPAT) that are procured from Assam and Mizoram and manufactured by ECI limited.
Wangoi Assembly segment recorded the highest voter turnout with 93.26 per cent, followed by Lilong (93.3 per cent), Wangjing Tentha (92.3 per cent) and Saitu (91.59 per cent).
The exact division of vote according to the polling station is:
Lilong has 32,398 voters (15,877 males, 16,518 females) and 49 polling stations. In all, 833 polling parties, including police personnel are stationed in Lilong. Three candidates including one INC and two Independents candidates are in the fray. They are Md Abdul Nasir of the Independent, Y Antas Khan of the Independent, and Me Azizul Haque Khan of the INC.
Wangjing Tentha has 31,213 voters (15,053 males, 16,160 females) and 43 polling stations out of which two polling stations 34/4 and 34/5 are sensitive. 34/14 and 34/15 polling stations will be manned by woman polling personnel only. Three candidates including BJP, INC, and Independent are in the fray. They are Paonam Brojen of the BJP, Moirangthem Hemanta Singh of the INC, and Sarangthem Manaobi of the Independent. In all, 731 polling parties, including police personnel are stationed in Wangjing Tentha.
Wangoi has a total number of 205 polling personnel, including security will be used in 41 polling stations and 28828 voters will cast their votes to seal the fate of three candidates, BJP, NPP, and INC. The candidates are Onaim Lukhoi Singh of the BJP, Khuraijam Loken Singh of the NPP, and Salam Joy Singh of the INC
Saitu by-polls will be a straight fight between arch-rival BJP and INC. Veteran politician and BJP candidate, Ngamthang Haokip will be up against a new face Lamtinthang Haokip of INC.
Around 525 polling personnel and security are stationed in 70 polling stations. There are 40,257 eligible voters in Saitu out of which 19,755 are male voters and 20,498 are female voters apart from four other voters. Of the 70 polling stations, 17 polling stations are identified as critical and seven polling stations are identified as vulnerable while the remaining 46 polling stations are identified as normal.
