SHILLONG, Sept 21 - The Election Commission of India today fixed October 21 as the date for the Shella by-election. Incidentally, this will also be the State�s first �green election�.
State Chief Election Officer Fredrick R Kharkongor said that the notification for the by-poll would be issued on Monday. The last date for submission of nomination papers is September 30. Scrutiny will take place on October 1 and the last date of withdrawal of nominations is October 3. The votes will be counted on October 24, Kharkongor added.
The Shella by-election is being held following the death of sitting legislator and former Assembly Speaker Donkupar Roy.
Roy, who headed the United Democratic Party, had held the seat for seventh consecutive terms since 1988. Shella is a far-flung constituency located in East Khasi Hills bordering Bangladesh. It is among the most backward constituencies of the State.
The UDP will try to retain the seat in the by-poll. However, during the last three elections, Roy had just managed to win the seat by defeating his rival, Leston Wanswett, with slim margins. Wanswett first contested the seat on a Congress ticket in 2008 and then in 2013, as an Independent candidate. In the last Assembly election, he represented the People�s Democratic Party.
Meanwhile, Kharkongor said the election in Shella would be the State�s first green election in which plastic and other hazardous materials would not be used. He said that efforts would be made to set up eco-friendly polling stations.
�We will endeavour to make the Shella by-poll the first green election in the State, and we will also perhaps have some eco-friendly polling stations,� Kharkongor said.
The decision to hold an eco-friendly election was taken following Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora�s appeal to political parties to avoid use of plastics and promote the use of environment-friendly materials during the poll campaigns.
