Stage set for second phase of ADC polls amid boycott, bandh
Tension hangs heavy as Spt, Tml, Ukl go to polls today
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, June 01 2010: After the first phase of the Autonomous District Council elections went off amid vociferous protests and subversive activities, around 1,13, 194 voters will decide the fate of 81 candidates in the second phase in Senapati, Tamenglong and Ukhrul districts tomorrow.

Notably, the ADC election is being held after a gap of more than 20 years.

Polling will start from 7 am and end at 3.30 pm.

The number of eligible voters in Senapati district is 30,939, Ukhrul 17,050 and 65,205 in Tamenglong district.

For the 72 DCCs which go to polls tomorrow, 36 candidates have already been declared elected unopposed either due to absence of contestants or withdrawal of candidates.

Security personnel getting ready to proceed to their place of duty for the 2nd phas ADC polls

Out of 24 District Council Constituencies (DCC) in Senapati district, not a single candidate is contesting in six DCCs.

In 12 DCCs, only one candidate remain in each of the DCC after withdrawal of nomination and scrutiny.

Hence, the 12 candidates have been already declared unopposed.

Fourteen candidates will be contesting in the remaining six DCCs tomorrow.

In Tamenglong district, four DCC seats have been won uncontested.

A total of 59 candidates would be vying for the remaining 20 seats.

According to inputs received from Tamenglong today evening, out of the 115 polling stations in the district, polling personnal have managed to reach only 76 stations.

The remaining officials meant to man the other 39 polling stations have not been able to leave the district headquarters till late in the evening today.

The remaining 39 polling stations are located at Tousem, Tamei and Azuram.

The factors responsible for the failure of the polling personnel to reach their destination range from proper pack of security cover, lack of vehicles to ferry them coupled with the damages and obstacles put up on the road by anti-ADC election activists.

The district administration of Tamenglong had previously asked the State Election Department to detail 200 vehicles for ferrying the polling officials, but due to shortage of vehicles, only 40 vehicles were sent.

Likewise, 20 DCC seats have been already won uncontested in Ukhrul district.

The remaining four seats would see straight fight among eight candidates tomorrow.

Voters of Tamenglong district would exercise their franchise in 115 polling stations whereas voters of Senapati and Ukhrul would cast their votes in 40 and 28 polling stations respectively.

Polling stations which have been declared hyper sensitive would be manned by 18 BSF or CRPF personnel each.

Sensitive polling stations would be guarded by 14 security personnel each while nine security personnel have been deployed in each of the polling station categorised as normal.

However, most of these polling stations have been identified as hyper sensitive.

On the other hand, in accordance to a decision adopted by the Tangkhul Naga Frontal Organisations (Against ADC Elections 2010) in a meeting with Tangkhul headmen, village chairmen and village councils, a bandh is in force in Ukhrul district since May 31 midnight.

The bandh was called till the midnight of June 2 .

Meanwhile continuing the attack on the houses of candidates at Ukhrul, another house of an INC candidate in the ADC polls, was attacked today.

Likewise, the Zeliangrong Students' Union has been imposing a bandh in Tamenglong district against the firing and injuring of three persons by security forces at Lukhambi near Noney on May 28.The bandh which came into force since May 28 midnight will end at midnight of June 2 .

Senapati district is also under the grip of bandh as Senapati District Students' Association called a 48 hours bandh with effect from May 31 midnight against the Lukhambi incident.

Meanwhile, in an obvious act of sabotaging the second phase ADC poll, house of a candidate and a school which has been selected as a polling station have been set ablaze in Senapati district today.

INC candidate RK Jimmy's house at Khuga Khullen was set ablaze by unidentified armed persons who are opposed to the ADC elections at about 1 am today, said a police source.

Just about an hour later, one UJB school located at Karong was also set ablaze.

Police said that the miscreants targeted the school as it was identified as a polling station in order to sabotage the ADC polls there.

However, a group of people who came to vandalise house of Dino Kamei at Noney were driven away by the local womenfolk.

Dino Kamei is contesting in the ADC elections from Longmai DCC.

The enraged womenfolk went after the miscreants and vandalised some of their houses.

This has resulted in a tense situation at Noney.