GUWAHATI, July 15 - The Election Commission of India (ECI) is providing a special pen for casting votes in the Presidential elections slated for Monday.
Voting by using any other pen may lead to invalidation of the vote. State Legislative Assembly Principal Secretary Mrigendra Kumar Deka told The Assam Tribune that a set of 10 such pens have been sent by the EC for the polling to be held in Assam. The ballot papers and boxes have also arrived and have been kept in the strong room.
Polling will be held in the central hall of the Assembly. It will begin at 10 am and close at 5 pm. The vote value of an MLA from Assam is 116. All MPs have a similar vote value of 708. There are 126 MLAs in the State, 14 Lok Sabha MPs and seven Rajya Sabha MPs.
Deka said two MLAs, Tarun Gogoi and Kamal Shing Narzary, will cast their votes in New Delhi. Three MPs � Badruddin Ajmal, Siraj Uddin Ajmal and Radheshyam Biswas � will cast their votes in the State Assembly.
Joint Secretary (Union Rural Development Ministry) PK Sarangi, the central observer deputed for the polling here, has arrived in the State, Deka informed.
Two polling officers will be deputed in the central hall during the polling.
�No mobile phone or camera will be allowed inside the central hall during the polling,� Deka said.
On completion of the polling, the ballot boxes will be sealed and kept in the strong room along with other documents. Next day, the boxes will be taken to Delhi for the counting of votes.
Opposition candidate and former Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar has appointed MLAs Wazed Ali Choudhury and Hafiz Bashir Ahmed as her representatives for the polling. The NDA candidate Ram Nath Kovind is yet to nominate any representative for the polling here.
