SHILLONG, Feb 13: The Election Department has taken steps to ensure “no voter is left behind” when the elections to the 60-member Meghalaya Assembly are held on February 27 across 3,482 polling stations.
A polling station is being set up for 35 voters at Kamsing in West Jaintia Hills district’s Amlarem constituency. The election team will travel to this station by boat.
A polling team will also have to reach the riverine Kalatek polling station in the Shella constituency by boat.
Among the 74 polling stations without a motorable road is Nongrait in the Shells constituency. The polling party would have to walk to this station across a double-decker natural root bridge.
The access to the Huroi polling station in the Sutnga Saipung constituency is a makeshift bamboo bridge. Such bridges would also help voters reach a few polling stations across the Simsang in the East Garo Hills district.
Sutnga Saipung constituency’s Saipung B (all-female) polling station would sport a Biate tribe theme.
“The Biate tribe forms a significant section of the population in the Saipung area. The East Jaintia Hills district election officer suggested the Biate theme for the polling station with a total of 778 registered voters,” Chief Electoral Officer FR Kharkongor said.
The polling personnel at the station will be dressed in Biate traditional attires and the SHGs will be involved in painting Biate cultural motifs at the polling station. Cultural items of the tribe will also be displayed at the polling station, he said.
Meghalaya had 3,083 polling stations in 2018. The number has increased by 147 this time.
More than 1,700 polling stations would have webcasting and efforts are on to facilitate webcasting through satellite-based solutions as connectivity in some areas is poor.
Meanwhile, the Election Department has decided to introduce a campaign themed ‘My vote, my Valentine’ on Valentine’s Day to “love your state, love your voice, love your vote”.
The launch programme for #Mission 300 will be held at one of the polling stations in North Shillong identified for low voter turnout. Similar campaigns will thereafter be held across seven Assembly constituencies of Shillong and in other districts with turnouts lower than the state average.
Kharkongor said the efforts this time would be on ensuring the voter turnout in the state reaches 90%.
Apart from election icons, the Rangbah Shnongs and Seng Samlas of low-turnout constituencies will participate in the #Mission 300 in North Shillong.
Under this mission, five polling stations per Assembly constituency have been identified where the turnout was below 87% in 2018.
A total of 300 such polling stations have been identified across the 60 seats in the state.
