Asem Bhakta Singh, Special Correspondent North East
Imphal:( Waari Singbul Network) The first phase of the General Elections for the 18th Lok Sabha in Manipur State is slated to commence on Friday, the 19th April, 2024.
Polling will kick off at 7 AM and continue until 4 PM across all 32 Assembly Segments of Inner Manipur Parliamentary Constituency and 15 Assembly Segments of Outer Manipur (ST) Parliamentary Constituency.
A total of 15,44,652 voters, comprising 7,41,849 male, 8,02,557 female, and 246 transgender voters, are set to exercise their voting rights in Phase-I.
The election will span 2107 polling stations, with 645 stations fully managed by women polling personnel, and 2 stations exclusively managed by Persons with Disabilities (PwD) polling personnel. Further, 85 special polling stations have been established for Internally Displaced Voters across several districts, accommodating a total of 18,091 voters. Over 8000 polling personnel have been deployed, all of whom have reached their designated stations.
To ensure accessibility, provisions including pick-up/drop facilities for PwD and elderly voters, wheelchair assistance, and voter assistance booths have been made available. Moreover, the movement of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) is being tracked through the e-Traccar App, embedded in the mobile phones of polling personnel and Sector Officers.
Chief Electoral Officer, Manipur, Pradeep Kumar Jha, has urged all voters to participate in this democratic exercise, emphasizing the necessity of producing Election Photo Identity Cards (EPIC) or alternative identity documents for voting.
With preparations in place and restrictions imposed to ensure fair elections, Manipur braces for the commencement of its electoral journey.
Polling for the Outer Manipur Parliamentary seat, covering 28 assembly segments, will conclude on April 26, with the remaining 13 segments voting in the second phase.
In total, 10 candidates are running for the two seats: Inner Manipur and Outer Manipur. Six contenders, including BJP and Indian National Congress, supported by the INDIA bloc, along with RPI (Athawalia) and three other independent candidates are competing for the Inner seat.
For Outer Manipur, four candidates are in the race, including Indian National Congress, Naha People’s Front (NPF), and two independents.
While Congress is contesting both Manipur seats, BJP is only fielding a candidate for the Inner seat and supporting its ally, NPF, for Outer Manipur.
