Correspondent
PASIGHAT, 30 Nov: As the date of the simultaneous panchayat and municipal elections is drawing nearer, political party workers and supporters of independent candidates have tightened their belts for the poll battle.
Ruling BJP, opposition Congress (INC), NDA-allied PPA (People’s Party of Arunachal), National People Party (NPP) and independent candidates are contesting various seats in the panchayat poll.
The contesting candidates and their party leaders are moving in the villages. They have asked their workers to cover every house in their respective villages.
Pasighat West MLA (BJP) Ninong Ering addressed a series of meetings in his constituency and instructed contesting candidates to constitute a “campaign committee” at their level. He also warned that the party’s disciplinary action committee may initiate action against party functionaries who are found involved in anti-party activities.
But a large section of dissident BJP leaders and workers of the district, who are infuriated at the district BJP leaders for denying ticket to their chosen aspirants, has joined regional party PPA and are posing an open challenge to the ruling party. The PPA’s district committee functionaries, led by its president Rokom Borang, are conducting public meetings with contesting candidates and their supporters. The party’s poll campaign activities are being supervised by two MLAs – Tapi Darang (Pasighat East) and Oken Tayeng (Mebo).
The opposition Congress and NPP too have chalked out poll campaign strategies. The Congress is contesting in four zilla parishad (ZP) seats out of the total 14, while the NPP has fielded candidates in only two ZP seats.
Meanwhile, the BJP candidate from Ruksin-II has been declared winner unopposed after the Congress candidate withdrew his nomination paper.
An independent candidate, Sinadhar Perme, is contesting the ZP seat in Monggu Banggo-II (Mebo), and is facing contest from BJP, PPA and NPP candidates.
Majority of ZPM seats won uncontested in L/Subansiri
Meanwhile, Lower Subansiri Deputy Commissioner-cum-DEO Oli Perme on Saturday expressed happiness that a majority of the ZPM seats (10 out of 14) in the district have been won uncontested this time.
She said this during a meeting chaired by election observer Pagli Sora here.
DPDO Hage Tarung presented a brief on the model code of conduct (MCC), and urged all contesting candidates and political party representatives to strictly follow the guidelines issued by the State Election Commission (SEC).
Superintendent of Police Keni Bagra highlighted the security arrangements, and requested all contesting candidates to thoroughly go through the MCC. He further reminded that firearms must be deposited within the stipulated time to avoid cancellation of licences.
Election observer Sora, representing the SEC, urged the candidates to follow the MCC, guide their party workers to maintain peace, and ensure compliance with expenditure ceiling limits.
The meeting was attended by all returning officers, presidents/general secretaries of political parties, and contesting candidates.
Meanwhile, in East Kameng district, a security coordination meeting was held in Seppa on Friday in view of the panchayati raj elections.
The meeting was chaired by election observer Rajesh Kumar, in the presence of DC-cum-DEO Yashaswani B, SP Kamdam Sikom, ADC Manjunath R, all ROs, AROs, the DSP (HQ), and police officials.
The SP presented the district’s security preparedness, including deployment plans, assessment of critical and vulnerable polling stations, and strategies for maintaining law and order, especially in shadow areas.
The election observer emphasised on seamless coordination, timely communication, and strict adherence to election guidelines to ensure peaceful, fair, and incident-free elections.
In Papum Pare district, the first phase of training for presiding and polling officials for the upcoming panchayati raj elections was conducted at Kimin and Balijan on 27 and 28 November, respectively.
The training sessions were led by Assistant Commissioner Dani Rikang, along with trainers BK Tripathi and Manoj Bishwakarma.
Addressing the participants, Rikang highlighted the significance of the training, emphasising that well-trained officials are the backbone of a successful electoral process.
She appealed to all concerned to take the training sessions seriously, saying that their preparedness “directly impacts the integrity and smooth conduct of panchayati elections.”
The next phase of training for presiding and polling officials is scheduled to be held on 2 December in Yupia. (With inputs from DIPROs)
