2,841 Contestants To Be in Fray From 175 Assembly, 25 Lok Sabha Segments in AP Polls
Vijayawada: As many as 2,841 contestants are in the fray from 175 assembly and 25 Lok Sabha segments in the elections scheduled for Monday, May 13, in Andhra Pradesh.
Of them, 2,571 are male, 268 female and two transgenders contesting from Pithapuram and Kurupam assembly segments. For the 175 assembly segments, there are 2,387 contestants and for the 25 Lok Sabha segments, 454 contestants.
Chief electoral officer Mukesh Kumar Meena told the media on Saturday that all arrangements have been made for the smooth conduct of the polls.
The polling wil be held from 7am to 6pm on May 13 in 169 assembly segments. In three assembly segments--Palakonda, Kurupam and Salur -- the polling will be held from 7am to 5pm.
In three assembly segments--Araku Valley, Paderu and Rampachodavaram – the polling will be from 7am to 4pm.
The 48 hours’ silence period preceding the voting began at 6m on May 11 and it will end at 6pm on May 13 in 169 assembly segments. Similarly, in certain constituencies where the polling ends at 4pm and at 5pm, their 48 hr silence period begins at 4pm and 5pm on May 11 and ends at 4pm and 5pm on May 13.
Political functionaries and party workers who are brought from outside the constituency for poll campaign have to leave the constituency after the conclusion of the campaign period.
However, those who visit tourist places and temple cities, after the campaign end, are to be dealt with in a careful manner. A watch will be kept on hotels, lodges, community halls etc against likely disturbance to the polling by outsiders. Bulk SMSs of political parties are prohibited, the CEO said.
No restriction has been imposed on the movement of voters during the period up to the end of the voting time. Special arrangements are to be made at polling booths by providing these with sun shade, water, seating, separate queue for men and women, etc, besides stocking of ORS packets by way of a health precaution.
No electioneering will be allowed within the 200 metres area around the polling stations on the day of the poll. Public transport like buses, taxis, auto rickshaws for carrying passengers to reach railway and bus stations, hospitals and others should not be disturbed, Meena said.
Voter slips on plain white paper without name of the candidate/symbol/party name can be allowed.
With regard to poll-related violations, 1,056 FIRs were registered so far and two deaths reported in poll violence. Seizures including cash, freebies etc made so far were worth `Rs 269.28 cr, he said.
Nearly 1.06 lakh personnel including police from AP, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu and those from APSP and Central Armed Police Forces and NCC, NSS, ex-service men and retired police personnel, are being deployed to provide security for the polls.
There are 46,389 polling stations, and of them 12,438 were declared as critical. Webcasting was proposed in 34,651 polling stations. The total number of electors are 4.14 crore; and of them, 7,927 are NRIs; those who are 18-19 years of age are 10,30,616; those who are 85 plus are 2,11,312 and PWD electors are 5,19,365, Meena stated.
