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Sikkim Assembly, LS polls today

By The Assam Tribune

GANGTOK, April 10 - An electorate of over 4 lakh will exercise their franchise on Thursday to elect a new 32-member Sikkim Legislative Assembly as well as its only Lok Sabha member.

All arrangements have been made to conduct simultaneous polls in a free and fair manner for 32 Assembly seats as well as the lone Lok Sabha as per the guidelines of the Election Commission of India, Sikkim�s Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Ravindra Telang told this news agency.

The polling will be held from 7 am to 5 pm at 567 polling stations spread over four districts in Sikkim, he said.

There are 150 candidates in fray in the 32 Assembly seats, while 11 candidates are contesting for the lone Lok Sabha seat.

Prominent candidates include Sikkim Chief Minister Pawan Kumar Chamling who is seeking a record eighth successive term as an MLA. He is contesting from two Assembly seats � Poklok-Kamrang and Namchi-Singhithang.

Former footballer Bhaichung Bhutia, who is the working president of the Hamro Sikkim party (HSP) has entered the fray from two Assembly seats as well, including Gangtok, a reserved seat for the indigenous Bhutia-Lepcha communities.

As many as 39 out of 567 polling stations will be manned by all-women personnel. The Election Commission has identified 120 polling stations as critical ones where the Centre paramilitary forces will be deployed to supervise security arrangements during the daylong polling.

As many as 3,600 polling personnel and 4,000 security men, including 10 companies of SSB, have been deployed for election duty in Sikkim.

A total of 4,32,306 voters comprising 2,20,305 men and 2,12,001 women will exercise their franchise.

There are 30,480 are first-time voters, while 2042 voters have been registered as the Persons with Disabilities (PwDs). � PTI

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