Overcoming limitations, Mizoram ready for April 9 polling

Aizawl, Apr 6: Handicaps are varied in a hilly state like

-- at least 20

booths inaccessible by vehicles, 30 polling stations without electricity and 180 booths with no mobile network.

But the state election department has made arrangements to overcome these problems and was fully prepared to conduct the April 9 election to the state's lone Lok Sabha seat, Chief Electoral Officer Ashwani Kumar said here today.

In the 30 polling stations having no electricity, solar lamps and mobile batteries would be used by the polling officials. Police wireless system would be used for communication in the 180 odd polling stations which did not have any mobile phone network, Kumar said.

The first team of officials to conduct polling in remote areas, inaccessible by vehicle, would be leaving for their respective polling stations today.

There were around 20 such booths, mainly in south Mizoram's Lawngtlai, Saiha and Lunglei districts, he said. Besides normal training, special exercises were conducted for officials to use Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) mechanism, which would be used in 385 polling stations of urban areas, the CEO told PTI.

Besides 10 Assembly segments of Aizawl, VVPAT would be used in headquarters of seven districts and major towns like Vairengte, Saitual, Khawzawl, Thenzawl and Hnahthial. Altogether 26 engineers of VVPAT manufacturer Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) would be in Mizoram to oversee the performance of the machines.

Opposition parties had urged the EC that VVPAT be used in all 1,126 polling stations in the state. By-election to Hrangturzo Assembly constituency would also be held along with the Lok Sabha election, though VVPAT system would be used there, Kumar said.

The by-poll was necessitated after Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla, who had won from Serchhip seat, in the Assembly election held in November, vacated Hrangturzo seat.

Congress' sitting MP C L Ruala, Michael Lalmanzuala of the Aam Aadmi Party and Robert Romawia Royte, an independent nominee backed by eight-party opposition alliance United Democratic Front (UDF), are contesting for the Lok Sabha seat in the state.

PTI