Assembly Elections 2023: Concise overview of Mizoram's 40 seats & Chhattisgarh's 20 seats: Key details

The polling for this phase is scheduled to commence at 8 a.m.

Mizoram is voting to elect a new government today. The state will vote in a single phase to elect a new 40-member assembly. Chief Minister Zoramthanga's Mizo National Front (MNF) will look forward for another term in office.

In the northeastern state, the ruling Mizo National Front (MNF) has undertaken an intensive campaign to maintain its hold on power. Additionally, the Zoram People's Movement (ZPM), BJP, and Congress have also put forward candidates with the aim of challenging the incumbent government.

Follow all the updates on Assembly Elections 2023 here

On the other hand, in Chhattisgarh, Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel serves as the prominent campaign face for the Congress party, while the BJP relies on the popularity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Twenty constituencies in the first phase are poised for elections.

This phase includes twelve assembly segments located in the naxal-affected Bastar region. To ensure the smooth conduct of the polls, an extensive security deployment has been put in place, involving 60,000 security personnel. Among them, 40,000 are from the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF), and the remaining 20,000 are from the state police.

Here are all details of Assembly polls in Mizoram:

Mizoram is set to witness the participation of 852,088 registered voters, comprising 413,064 males and 439,028 females. These voters will exercise their franchise at 1,276 polling stations, effectively determining the fate of 174 candidates, including 27 independent candidates and 16 women contestants. Notably, there are 50,611 first-time voters aged 18-19, and 8,490 senior citizens aged above 80.

In order to maintain law and order during the election, a total of 50 companies of Central Armed Paramilitary Forces (CAPF) have been deployed across Mizoram. The voting for the 40 assembly seats is scheduled to take place from 8 am to 5 pm, and enhanced security measures have been put in place to ensure the safety and integrity of the electoral process.

Polls in Chhattisgarh

Voting is set to take place for 20 assembly seats in the following regions: Bhanupratappur, Kanker, Keshkal, Pandariya, Kawardha, Khairagarh, Dongargarh, Rajnandgaon, Dongargaon, Khujji, Mohla-Manpur, Antagarh, Kondagaon, Narayanpur, Bastar, Jagdalpur, Chitrakot, Dantewada, Bijapur, and Konta. It's important to note that 70 other seats are scheduled for polling on November 17.

In the naxal-affected region, there will be variations in voting times to expedite the process and minimize the risk of untoward incidents. Nine seats, namely Dantewada, Narayanpur, Antagarh, Bhanupratappur, Kanker, Keshkal, Kondagaon, Bijapur, and Konta, will conduct voting from 7 am to 3 pm, while Bastar, Jagdalpur, and Chitrakot will have polling from 8 am to 5 pm.

To address security concerns, 149 polling stations in Bijapur, Narayanpur, Antagarh, Dantewada, and Konta assembly constituencies have been established within security camps and police stations to ensure the safety and smooth execution of the electoral process.

Polling stations managed by women

For maximum participation of women in the electoral process, the Election Commission has directed for at least one polling station in every Assembly constituency each managed exclusively by women. All election staff, including police and security personnel, will be women.

Voter assistance booths

Voter assistance booths have been set up for every polling station, having a team of officials in order to assist voters to correctly locate their polling booth number and serial number in the electoral roll of that concerned polling booth.