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Aizawl, April 18: The preparation for filling up of 1-Mizoram (ST) Parliamentary Constituency, General Election to the Lok Sabha, 2024, which is to be held on April 19, 2024, has reached its final stage.
Out of the 1,276 polling stations, there are 168 P-2 polling stations (polling stations that are in far-flung or remote areas), and those polling parties assigned to these polling stations left for their duty on Wednesday. The polling parties of P-1 Polling Station, which are 1,108 in number, will leave on Thursday for their duty. 5071 polling officials have been assigned to duty on the day of the election.
As per the latest electoral roll, there are 8,56,364 voters, out of which 4,14,805 are male voters and 4,41,559 are female voters. There are 4,963 service voters (male: 4872, female: 91), 4,741 voters aged 85 and above (male: 2,167, female: 2,574), 3,396 PwD voters (male: 1,876, female: 1,521), and 36,370 young voters between the ages of 18 and 19 (male: 18,659, female: 17,711).
Out of the 1,276 polling stations, there are 751 rural polling stations and 525 urban polling stations. On average, there are 671 voters per polling station. The polling booths at 765 polling stations will be monitored through webcasting.
There are 14 vulnerable polling stations (Kolasib District: 7, Aizawl District: 3, Champhai District: 4), 5 critical polling stations (all from Saitual District), 11 polling stations accessible only on foot (Mamit District: 6, Lunglei District: 4, Lawngtlai District: 1), and 15 polling stations that are only accessible through waterways (Lunglei District: 13, Mamit District: 2).
There are 25 model polling stations in Mizoram, 4 auxiliary polling stations in Lunglei District, 136 all-women-managed polling stations (pink polling stations), 7 all-youth-managed polling stations, and 1 PwD-managed polling station. To ensure that voters are able to cast their votes peacefully and without any difficulties, efforts will be undertaken using the Assured Minimum Facility (AMF).
In the upcoming election, Aizawl district has the highest number of voters at 2,88,304 (male: 1,34,838; female: 1,53,466), whereas Hnahthial district has the lowest number of voters at 16,223 voters. (Male: 8008; Female: 8215) The polling station with the highest number of voters is in Zemabawk-III (Aizawl District), and the one with the lowest number is in Thehlep (Lunglei District).
Currently, there is no shortage of personnel or EVM/VVPAT. In addition to EVM, VVPAT (Voter Verifiable Paper Trail) will be used in 1,276 polling stations. The latest M3 model developed by ECIL, consisting of 1,994 ballot units, 1,958 control units, and 2,088 VVPATs, will be used in the upcoming election.
Strong rooms have been designated and prepared in every district for the storage of EVMs after the conduct of elections. There are 40 strong rooms, one for each Assembly constituency. Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) and Mizoram State Armed Police personnel will be deployed to safeguard the Strong rooms and buildings day and night until counting day.
For the maintenance of law and order, 3,553 state police personnel as well as the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) Company have been deployed. There will be 83 Flying Squad Teams (FST) and 81 Static Surveillance Teams (SST). There are 52 checkposts (Nakas), out of which 12 are located at the inter-state boundary and the rest are located in different parts of the state. Since MCC came into force, drugs and alcohol worth Rs. 47,984,035 have been seized until April 15, 2024. Eight guns, ammo, 110 gelatin bombs, and 110 detonator bombs have also been seized. Five CAPF companies (all CRPF) will be utilised for strong room guarding and counting centres, and they will remain deployed in the state till the completion of the counting process. The remaining 7 companies (CRPF-2, BSF-2, ITBP-3) will leave Mizoram after poll day to be deployed in other states.
In the general election to Lok Sabha 2024, there are six candidates, one each from the BJP, INC, MNF, ZPM, and MPC political parties, and one independent candidate. Among them, one female candidate belongs to the MPC party. The Election Commission of India has appointed 1 general observer, 1 police observer, and 2 expenditure observers.
For voters above the age of 85 and PwD voters, home voting was carried out in Mizoram between April 5 and April 15, 2024, where mobile polling teams travelled to their homes to enable them to cast their votes. There were a total of 1,792 and 317 85+ years old and PwD voters, respectively.
On April 19, 2024, voter turnout will be reported every 2 hours through the Pollstar app. In case there are some difficulties, information will be communicated through MPRO, who will be on duty in every district control room along with Pollstar Nodal Officers and other officials.
Responsibilities and duties that are to be taken care of on poll day have been assigned in the CEO Office along with their phone number, as mentioned below:
State Control Room : 0389-2954202/8787622508
Communication Control Room : 9612317499
Media Monitoring Control Room : 0389-2954392/8731806897
Webcasting Control Room : 9612153577
EVM Control Room : 9436383058
A call centre has been established in every district where complaints or any queries regarding the election can be made on the Mizoram Election Helpline Toll-Free No. 18003351950. Officials have been assigned to be on duty 24/7. Khawzawl and Saitual districts are given separate numbers as there is no BSNL service in these two districts.
Khawzawl District Phone number- 6909245177
Saitual District Phone number- 8731817838
Votes will be counted on June 4, 2024, and the election result will be announced on the same day. Counting centres and halls have been prepared as per the ECI instructions. There are 13 counting centres with a total of 40 counting halls in the state. There are three counting centres in Aizawl district and one each in other districts of the state.
State-level MCMC has met four times with BJP, INC, ZPM, and MNF parties. Requests for pre-certification of political advertisements for print media and electronic media have been considered, and four political advertisements have been approved and pre-certified by the committee so far. A district-level MCMC has been set up in every district to pre-certify all the political advertisements.
Polling will start at 7:00 AM and conclude at 5:00 PM on April 19. The government has declared poll day, i.e., April 19, 2024, as a “public holiday” as well as a “paid holiday” for non-government employees. “Dry Day” has been declared; hence, the sale, distribution, and consumption of alcohol are strictly prohibited. As per the Representation of People Act, 1951, all campaign-related or election-related activity is prohibited for 48 hours. (from 17th April, 2024 5:00 PM till 19th April, 2024 at 5:00 PM when poll concludes). As it is the silence period or pre-election silence, we please request everyone to cooperate in this matter.
The Election Department invites everyone to participate in an inclusive, peaceful, free, and fair election and sets an example for the rest of India in this field. In order for our voter turnout to exceed the previous election, we urge every voter to cast their vote. As citizens of India, it is our duty to cast our valuable votes; therefore, we request that every eligible voter take on the responsibility of fulfilling their duty in this election.
