State Election Commission on Friday finally ended a prolonged speculation in Chhattisgarh about urban bodies’ poll dates and announced a two-phased voting schedule for the 154 urban bodies.
The polls to be held on December 8 and 11 and result would be declared on December 15.“With the announcement of polls, the model code of conduct has come into place in these local governing bodies, including municipal corporations, municipal councils and nagar panchayats,” P C Dalei, State Election Commissioner, told a crowded press conference here.
State’s ruling BJP and the opposition Congress have welcomed the poll dates announcement and both the parties claimed in separate statements that they are fully geared up to ‘sweep urban bodies elections’.For the first time, electronic voting machines (EVMs) will be used in the civic bodies’ elections. The EVM will be used for maximum of 56 candidates and the ballot papers will be used according to the need, said Dalei.
For security reasons in Naxal-hit areas, polling in Kondagaon, Narayanpur, Kanker, Dantewada, Sukma and Bijpaur urban bodies will be held from 7 am to 3 pm, whereas the polling in other urban bodies will be held from 8 am to 5 pm.The None Of The Above (NOTA) option will also be available to the voters for the first time in civic elections.
As many as 51 urban bodies, including 10 municipal corporations, 19 municipal councils and 22 nagar panchayats, will go to polls in the first phase on December 8, while the remaining 103 urban bodies including 20 municipal councils, 83 nagar panchayats will witness voting on December 11.Dalei informed that out of the total 2,881 wards, 1,250 will go to polls in the first phase and 1,631 in the second and the final phase.
For the first phase polling, the process of filing of nomination papers will begin from November 17 while for the second phase, the nomination will begin from November 19.Dalei informed that 37,27,987 voters, including 18,99,314 men and 18,28,673 women are eligible to exercise their franchise in the polls, for which 5,087 polling stations have been set up. Across the state 1,421 polling booths have been identified as sensitive, while 147 as hyper sensitive.