GUWAHATI, April 10 - The stage is set for the first phase of Lok Sabha elections with polling to take place in five constituencies of the State tomorrow. The five constituencies that will go to the polls in the first phase are Lakhimpur, Tezpur, Dibrugarh, Jorhat and Kaliabor.
All arrangements have been put in place for smooth conduct of the polls, said Election Commission officials.
Polling will start at 7 am and continue till 5 pm.
�No major cases of violation of model code of conduct have been reported so far in the State,� said Mukesh Sahu, Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), Assam.
Polling personnel have reached their respective locations of duty. Polling teams started leaving for their allotted points since early this morning, officials said.
A total of 42,126 polling personnel have been deployed. In addition, there are 614 micro observers.
Meanwhile, security arrangements have been beefed up in view of the polls at all the polling stations.
When contacted, Director General of Assam Police Kula Saikia told this newspaper that security forces have been positioned strategically across the polling stations and no stone has been left unturned to ensure peaceful election.
Additional Director General of Police (Law and order) Mukesh Agarwal, who is the nodal officer for the elections, told The Assam Tribune that nearly 180 companies of security forces have been deployed for the first phase of polls covering 14 police districts and the security scenario is being reviewed from time to time.
�The entire network of police control room is linked with the Assam Police headquarters. The sensitive polling stations have been sanitized and steps are being taken to ensure that no untoward incident takes place,� Agarwal stated.
Altogether, 41 candidates are in fray in the five constituencies, including 11 in Lakhimpur, eight each in Jorhat and Dibrugarh, and seven each in Tezpur and Kaliabor.
There are a total of 9,574 polling stations in the constituencies going to the polls tomorrow � 2,110 in Lakhimpur, 1,753 in Jorhat, 2,174 in Kaliabor, 1,880 in Tezpur and 1,657 in Dibrugarh.
There are 201 polling stations with all women polling personnel spread across the five seats. Of the total polling stations, 20 are located in remote areas.
The total number of electors in the five constituencies is 76,03,458. Of the total, 38,65,334 are male electors, 37,37,970 are female and 154 are from the �third gender�.
In Lakhimpur constituency, there are a total of 17,04,447 electors, including 8,66,675 male, 8,37,730 female and 42 of third gender.
Dibrugarh has 13,12,195 electors, including 6,62,634 male, 6,49,533 female and 28 from third gender.
The number of the voters in Jorhat constituency is 13,60,328, including 6,89,038 male, 6,71,283 and seven from third gender.
Kaliabor has a total electorate of 17,31,610. They include 8,83,388 male, 8,48,176 female and 46 of third gender.
In Tezpur constituency, there are a total of 14,94,878 electors, including 7,63,599 male, 7,31,248 female and 31 of the third gender.
In the last parliamentary elections, held in 2014, the BJP had emerged victorious from Lakhimpur, Tezpur, Dibrugarh and Jorhat constituencies, while the Kaliabor seat had gone to the Congress.
Unlike 2014, this time the BJP has an alliance with the AGP and the BPF, as well as with three other smaller local parties.
As part of the seat-sharing arrangement among the NDA constituents, the BJP has fielded candidates from Lakhimpur, Tezpur, Dibrugarh and Jorhat, while the Kaliabor seat has been allotted to the AGP. On the other hand, the Congress is in fray in all the five constituencies.
The BJP denied tickets to sitting MPs in Jorhat and Tezpur and instead opted for �new faces� in those seats. Similarly, the Congress has also given candidature to new faces (who have no previous experience in the parliamentary battle arena) in Lakhimpur, Tezpur and Jorhat constituencies.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah as well as Congress president Rahul Gandhi led the campaign for their respective parties in the constituencies going to the polls in the first phase.
