Elections to the 25 Lok Sabha seats across eight northeastern states will be held in the first three phases of the seven-phase 2024 parliamentary elections, with 15 seats, including one partly, going to the polls in the first phase, seven (one partly) in the second phase, and four in the third, it was announced on Saturday.
Announcing the poll schedule for the Lok Sabha elections at a press conference in New Delhi, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar said that of the two Lok Sabha seats in Manipur, polling will be held in Outer Manipur (reserved for the tribals) in two phases – April 19 and April 26.
According to the schedule, in the first phase on April 19, elections will be held in 5 seats in Assam, all two in Arunachal Pradesh, in Manipur (including partly in Outer Manipur), and Meghalaya, one in Tripura, and the sole seats in Nagaland, Mizoram, and Sikkim while in the second phase on April 26, voting will be held in another five seats in Assam, the other seat in Tripura, and Manipur (remaining part of Outer Manipur).
In the third phase on May 7, polling will be held in the remaining four seats in Assam.
In the 2019 polls, the elections were also held in the eight northeastern states in three phases.
Of the region's 25 Lok Sabha seats, seven are reserved for the tribals, and one for scheduled castes.
Election officials in different northeastern states said that they are ready to conduct the parliamentary polls as per the schedule announced by the Election Commission.
A large contingent of Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) reached different northeastern states last month and they, along with the state security forces, are now regularly patrolling the sensitive, vulnerable, mixed-population, and border areas as part of their "confidence-building measures".
A senior election official told IANS that special security measures are being taken along the 1,643 km long border with Myanmar, the 1,880 km long border with Bangladesh, the over 1,300 km border with China, the 516 km border with Bhutan, and the 98 km border with Nepal to foil any cross-border illegal activities, infiltration, and misadventure during the run-up to the elections.
AFSPA extended in Manipur, parts of Nagaland, Arunachal for another 6 months
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Sunday extended the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act for another six months in certain parts of Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland, officials said, adding that further extension of the law would be effective from April 1.
PM Modi slams Cong for decades of 'neglect' & underdevelopment in Chhattisgarh
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday strongly criticised the previous Congress governments for years of neglect towards Chhattisgarh, accusing it of plunging the state into a prolonged era of darkness and underdevelopment.
Navy ships from Andaman to carry relief material to quake-hit Myanmar
Indian Navy ships Karmuk and LCU 52 from the Andaman and Nicobar Command will also be sailing for Yangon on Sunday to boost ‘Operation Brahma’ to render assistance to earthquake-hit Myanmar.
IAF’s Su-30 MKI to display skills in multinational exercise in Greece
Aiming to hone skills against a dozen other counterparts, including the US, Israel, and France, the Indian Air Force (IAF) will be participating in biennial multinational air exercise INIOCHOS-25, starting in Greece from Monday, an official said.
PM Modi lays foundation stone for 800 MW Sipat III power project
Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone for Sipat stage-III, an advanced 800 MW ultra-supercritical power single unit on Sunday, by remotely pressing a button during a ceremony held in Mohbhatta village, Bilaspur district, Chhattisgarh.
Building a developed, inclusive Bharat will be true tribute to Babasaheb: PM Modi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said that a developed and inclusive Bharat will be the true tribute to Babasaheb Ambedkar and will take the country to new heights of progress with his values and teachings.
Another haul of areca nuts smuggled from Myanmar seized in Mizoram
Assam Rifles, along with Customs, have seized a large consignment of smuggled areca nuts, also known as Burmese Betel nuts, valued at Rs 1.79 crore in Mizoram, officials said on Sunday.