DCM urges first-time voters to exercise franchise without fear
ITANAGAR, 13 Dec: Campaigning for the 15 December municipal and panchayat elections in Arunachal Pradesh ended on Saturday.
Panchayat and civic elections to the Itanagar Municipal Corporation (IMC) and Pasighat Municipal Council (PMC) will be held on 15 December.
The polling, which will begin at 7 am on Monday, will end at 4 pm, State Election Commissioner (SEC) Rinchin Tashi said.
The campaigning for the polls ended at 4 pm on Saturday.
Tashi in an order said that no person shall convene, hold or attend any public meeting relating to panchayat and municipal elections in the state in the next 48 hours.
As many as 63 candidates have already been elected uncontested in municipal and rural elections in the state.
The ruling BJP won unopposed in 58 zilla parishad constituencies, besides one candidate from the National People’s Party (NPP). A total of 5,037 BJP candidates for gram panchayat member seats have also been declared elected without contest.
Four BJP candidates were also elected unopposed for the IMC.
A total of 440 candidates will contest 186 zilla parishad seats, along with 39 candidates for 16 IMC wards, and 21 candidates for eight PMC wards.
The SEC said that a total of 13 gram panchayat constituencies received no nominations, while all nominations in 14 gram panchayat constituencies were rejected during scrutiny.
Polling in the Dumba Singpho gram panchayat constituency has been countermanded due to the death of a validly nominated candidate.
A total of 8,31,648 voters – including 7,59,210 for rural polls and 72,438 for civic polls – are eligible to cast their ballots across 2,171 polling stations for the panchayat elections, 67 for IMC, and 12 for PMC.
Electronic voting machines (EVMs) will be used for municipal polls, while ballot boxes will be deployed for panchayat elections. The counting of votes will be held on 20 December.
Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein has urged first-time voters in the state to exercise their franchise without fear and doubt in the upcoming panchayat and municipal elections.
He cautioned them against misinformation and appealed to them for the preservation of social harmony.
He called upon the youths to recognise the responsibility that comes with the right to vote, describing them as “the future of the society.”
“The state government is committed to creating opportunities for the youths and empower them,” Mein said in a social media post after an interaction with first-time voters from Lekang in Namsai district at his residence on Friday evening.
The deputy chief minister pointed out various youth-centric initiatives launched by the state government and the declaration of 2024-25 as the ‘Year of Youths’.
He advised the young electors to respect elders and “keep the legacy of maintaining good relations between different communities in the region,” underlining the importance of shared history, culture and peaceful coexistence.
Highlighting the growing influence of digital platforms, the deputy chief minister warned that while today’s youths are empowered with technology, they must be careful not to be swayed away by propaganda and false narratives carried out by some.
He encouraged them to seek guidance from elders to better understand social values and community bonds.
Extending his best wishes, Mein said he was confident that the first-time voters would exercise their adult franchise responsibly and with a positive mindset. (PTI)
