| Staff REPORTER |
Itanagar, Dec 14: Arunachal Pradesh is fully prepared for the general elections to the Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) and two urban local bodies in Itanagar and Pasighat, scheduled to be held on Monday.
Polling will begin at 7 am and continue till 4 pm, the State Election Commission (SEC) said. A senior SEC official informed that voters standing in the queue at the closing time will be allowed to cast their votes after being issued voting slips.
Even before polling, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has secured a significant advantage with a record number of candidates elected unopposed. The party has won four of the 20 seats in the Itanagar Municipal Corporation (IMC), 58 of the 245 Zilla Parishad constituencies, and 5,037 Gram Panchayat Member (GPM) seats across the state without any voting. One Zilla Parishad seat has been won unopposed by a candidate from the National People’s Party (NPP).
The SEC confirmed that a large number of constituencies recorded only a single nomination. SEC Secretary Taru Talo said that 5,857 out of 8,182 Gram Panchayat constituencies received just one nomination, resulting in unopposed elections after scrutiny and withdrawal of nominations.
Polling will be conducted on December 15 for the remaining PRI seats, the IMC, and the eight wards of the Pasighat Municipal Council (PMC). Counting of votes is scheduled for December 20.
A total of 440 candidates are contesting 186 Zilla Parishad seats, while 39 candidates are in the fray for 16 IMC wards and 21 candidates for eight PMC wards.
The SEC said that 13 Gram Panchayat constituencies received no nominations, while nominations in 14 others were rejected during scrutiny. Polling in the Dumba Singpho Gram Panchayat constituency has been countermanded following the death of a validly nominated candidate.
Altogether, 8,31,648 voters — including 7,59,210 in rural areas and 72,438 in urban areas — are eligible to exercise their franchise across 2,171 polling stations for Panchayat elections, 67 for the IMC and 12 for the PMC. Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) will be used for municipal polls, while ballot boxes will be deployed for Panchayat elections.
Meanwhile, Arunachal Pradesh Governor Lt General (Retd) KT Parnaik has appealed to the people to actively participate in the Panchayat and Municipal elections and cast their votes on December 15.
The Governor said that Panchayati Raj Institutions, working at the grassroots level, are vital for meaningful public participation in development planning and implementation. He added that municipal councils and urban local bodies, being directly elected by the people, carry immense responsibility and authority to promote development and must utilize their powers effectively to serve the community.
Highlighting India’s democratic ethos, the Governor reminded citizens that the country is the world’s largest democracy founded on universal adult franchise. He stressed that every vote is significant and should be exercised not only as a constitutional right but also as a moral and national duty.
He also called upon all officers on election duty to maintain the highest standards of impartiality, transparency and accountability to ensure free, fair and peaceful elections across the state.
In the meantime, the All Arunachal Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) has called upon all citizens of the State to ensure the conduct of Panchayati Raj and Municipal Elections 2025 in Arunachal Pradesh in a free, fair, transparent and peaceful manner, upholding the Constitution of India in letter and spirit.