Nagaland is set to conduct its first civic body elections in two decades on Wednesday, marking a historic event as it will be the first municipal elections in the state with 33 percent reservation for women. The state has three municipal councils and 36 town councils.
A diverse range of parties will contest the elections, including the NDPP, BJP, Congress, Naga Peoples’ Front (NPF), Rising Peoples’ Party, RPI (Athawale), JD(U), LJP, NCP, and NPP. A total of 2,23,636 voters — 1,10,115 male and 1,13,521 female — will decide the fate of 523 candidates from 11 political parties across 214 wards.
However, the elections will proceed without the participation of the Eastern Nagaland Peoples’ Organisation (ENPO). The ENPO, representing seven Naga tribes in the six eastern districts, has been advocating for a ‘Frontier Nagaland Territory’ due to longstanding claims of regional neglect. Despite more than 60 nominations being accepted from the ENPO area, the tribal bodies compelled the candidates to withdraw from the race. The ENPO also abstained from the April 19 Lok Sabha polls for the state’s lone seat. All 14 town councils under ENPO areas are abstaining from participating in the election.
Voting is scheduled to commence at 7:30 AM and conclude at 4 PM, with ballot papers being used instead of EVMs. An election official confirmed that votes would be counted on June 29. Voting will take place in 420 polling stations, categorized as hyper-sensitive, sensitive, and normal.
Out of 222 female candidates, 198 are contesting tomorrow as 24 contenders were elected unopposed. A total of 325 male candidates are also in the fray.
Security measures include eight personnel for hyper-sensitive stations, six for sensitive ones, and five for normal stations. Each polling station will be staffed by four polling personnel: one officer, two assistant polling officers, and a grade 4 staffer.
Meanwhile, polling parties with ballot boxes and polling materials have been dispatched to polling stations. For voter identification, the State Election Commission has specified that electors can use any government-issued identification document such as Aadhaar, PAN card, or others. (With PTI inputs)
