ITANAGAR, 16 Apr: The first batch of 40 election officials, including police personnel, was airlifted to four remote polling stations in Kra Daadi district to conduct polling for the simultaneous Lok Sabha and assembly elections in the state on 19 April, an official said on Tuesday.
The polling officials, along with EVMs and VVPATs, were airlifted on Monday to the polling stations located in Pip-Sorang circle in the remote district bordering China, the official said.
“They were airlifted in two sorties by an MI-172 chopper operated in the state by Skyone Airways,” Toko Babu,
officer on special duty (OSD) to the state’s chief electoral officer, said on Tuesday.
Airlifting of more polling teams to remote polling stations where road communication is not conducive will be done as per requirements of respective district electoral officers of various districts, he said.
“The polling teams airlifted on Monday will be stationed at Tali, the ADC headquarters in the district, from where they will undertake a foot march to reach Pip-Sorang circle,” Babu said.
Tali assembly constituency, which falls under the Arunachal West parliamentary seat, is one among the 10 assembly seats won unopposed. Jike Takku of the BJP has won the seat uncontested this time.
Each polling team consists of 10 persons on an average, including a presiding officer, two polling officers, and one polling attendant, besides security personnel, the official said, and added that the four polling stations in Pip-Sorang circle include Tedung, Pip-Sorang, Kharsang and Korapu.
The OSD added that the remaining polling stations in the state which require the polling teams to undertake foot march, will start leaving for their respective polling booths on 17 April from the respective district headquarters.
There are altogether 228 polling stations in the state,out of the total 2,226, which can be reached only by foot march. Out of these, to reach 61 polling stations it requires two days of foot-march, while in seven other booths, polling officials have to march for three days to reach their respective destinations.
The state will go to simultaneous polls for two Lok Sabha seats – western parliamentary and eastern parliamentary constituencies – along with 50 assembly seats in the first phase on 16 April.
There are a total of 60 assembly seats in the state, out of which the BJP has won 10 seats unopposed.
A total of 8.92,694 voters, including 4,54,256 females, will decide the fate of 143 candidates contesting for the 50 assembly seats and 14 candidates vying for the two Lok Sabha seats.
A total of 11,130 polling officials have been deployed to conduct the polling process, while 6,874 EVMs will be used for conducting the Lok Sabha and the assembly elections.
As many as 80 companies of central armed police forces (CAPF) have been deployed in the state to manage law and order.
Counting of votes for the assembly elections will be held on 2 June, while that of Lok Sabha polls will be held on 4 June. (PTI)
