Guwahati: Assam State Election Commission on Friday said if differences regarding delimitation of seats for Rabha Hasong Autonomous Council are resolved amicably then polls to the council could be conducted by the middle of May.
Speaking to reporters here, State Election Commissioner Biren Dutta said some issues regarding the delimitation process are yet to be sorted out.
“Earlier we had announced the RHAV polls for April 30. However, it will be difficult to hold the polls by that time as some problems remain regarding delimitation of seats remain to be settled,” he said.
Dutta added: “We are hopeful that the issues would be sorted out through discussions by April 23-24 and then polls could be held by mid-May.”
The RHAC areas, covering parts of Goalpara and Kamrup Rural districts of lower Assam, had witnessed massive violence in February after the state government went ahead with panchayat polls in the area before holding the elections for the council.
Meanwhile, the State Election Commission today issued the notifications for the North Cachar Hills Autonomous Council (NCHAC), which covers the whole of Dima Hasao Hills district in Assam.
Polling for the 28 seats in NCHAC would be held on May 20 and counting would be taken up on May 24.
The Election Commission has declared all the 200 polling stations in Dima Hasao as sensitive, while 78 among them have been categorised as hyper-sensitive. A total of 1.15 lakh voters would be eligible to vote in the NCHAC polls.
“Of the 200 polling stations in Dima Hasao, 78 are not connected by motorable roads and porters would have to be used to transport ballot materials and other things,” Dutta said.
He said security arrangements in Dima Hasao would be beefed up for the NCHAC polls.
Sources said the two factions of Dima Halam Daogah, which entered into an agreement with the central government last year, are expected to contest the polls for NCHAC.
Dutta said the State Election Commission has finished work on delimitation of seats for the Sonowal Kochari Autonomous Council, while work of preparation of the electoral rolls is underway for the Mising Autonomous Council.
He said constituency delimitation for the Guwahati Municipal Corporation has also been completed and the commission is hoping to hold the polls before onset of the monsoon. (PTI)