AT A GLANCE
Total number of candidates: 369
Male candidates: 333
Female candidates: 36
Total voters: 21,40,453 (without Sohiong)
Total polling stations: 3,419
Constituency with highest electorate: Mawlai
Number of voters: 50,058
Constituency with lowest electorate: Dalu
Number of voters: 22,099
SHILLONG, Feb 26: After a high octane election campaign in the state, Sunday came as a true sabbatical before the D-day.
For the 21-lakh voters who were left to soak in the unprecedented pitch of campaign trail, it was an experience of a new kind. The three big players — BJP, Congress and TMC — besides local outfits like NPP and UDP, among others, have bombarded enough the voters with fodder to take a call.
On Monday, voters are expected to exercise their franchise in 59 of the 60 seats to seal the fate of 369 candidates in the fray.
The polling will be held from 7 am to 4 pm.
The run-up to this election has been different from any in the past in terms of hype and scale with political parties such as the TMC and VPP making a debut in the state election, the BJP going all out to expand its footprint, the Congress fighting for survival and the NPP going all out to regain power overriding the burden of anti-incumbency.
The Congress and the BJP are contesting in 59 seats, while the NPP has put up nominees in 56 constituencies, the TMC in 57 and the UDP in 46 seats.
According to data provided by state election officials, female voters outnumber their male counterparts. There are a total of 21,40,453 voters, excluding the numbers for Sohiong constituency..
The state has 7,478 voters in the category of persons with disabilities, 290 centenarians and 22,658 aged 80 years and above. There are 81,443 first-time voters.
As many as 640 polling booths have been categorised as “vulnerable” while 323 have been marked as “critical”.
The international border with Bangladesh has also been sealed as a precautionary measure.
A substantial number of polling parties reached their respective polling stations on Saturday itself while almost all reached their polling stations on Sunday. On Sunday, out of the 2,443 polling parties that moved, 2,242 reported safe arrival.
“Everything is fine and there is no law and order problem,” Chief Electoral Officer Frederick Roy Kharkongor said.
Polling will be held at 3,419 polling stations across 59 Assembly constituencies in the state. Election to the Sohiong constituency was deferred due to the death of UDP candidate HDR Lyngdoh.
The CEO said there will be 60 model polling stations in tune with the spirit of green election while 120 will be all-women polling stations. The state has 74 non-motorable polling stations and two riverine polling stations.
More than 19,000 polling personnel have been deployed and over 500 micro observers have been trained and deployed as well.
Around 2,000 polling stations will be under webcast and all vehicles carrying EVMs are being tracked via GPS, Kharkongor said.
As many as 369 candidates, including 36 women are in the fray.
The highest of 10 women nominees have been put up by the Congress.