Port Blair: Arrangements have been made for conducting Lok Sabha elections for the lone seat in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, with polling personnel traversing deep jungles and crocodile-infested mangrove swamps to set up booths in remote areas to ensure all the 3.15 lakh voters get an opportunity to exercise their franchise, officials said.
Voting for the lone Lok Sabha seat will be held in the first phase on April 19.
Of the 3.15 lakh voters, 1.64 lakh are men and 1.51 lakh are women, while there are four third-gender voters.
The electorate also includes 39 voters of the Great Nicobarese tribe of Strait Islands, 68 members of the Onge tribe at Hut Bay and 98 members of the Shompen tribe of Great Nicobar Island. Special polling stations have been established for them.
A total of 12 candidates, which includes two women and five Independents, are in the fray for the polls.
Of the 412 polling stations, webcasting will be available in 206 which are primarily located in sensitive or remote areas.
Speaking to the PTI, Chief Electoral Officer B S Jaglan, said, "All necessary arrangements have been made. Conducting elections in the archipelago is very different as compared to the mainland due to difficult terrains.' 'There is irregular electricity supply and proper accommodation in many places. Those deployed for polling duty in remote areas, especially in North and Middle Andaman and Nicobar districts, will have to travel through crocodile-infested mangrove swamps, deep jungles and the open sea. There are areas where even small vessels cannot be used. One has to reach using small dinghy or dugout canoe," he said.
The Union territory has elected either Congress or BJP candidates for decades.
This time, the saffron party has nominated Bishnu Pada Ray as its candidate, while the Congress has fielded its sitting MP Kuldeep Rai Sharma.
Ray was first elected to Lok Sabha in 1999, when he defeated Congress candidate Sharma by 2,990 votes. He was re-elected in 2009 and also in 2014. In the 2019 elections, however, Sharma secured a victory against BJP's Vishal Jolly (Ray was denied a ticket) by a narrow margin of 1,407 votes.
South Andaman Deputy Commissioner Arjun Sharma said strict action will be taken against those trying to disturb the poll process.
"We believe that polling is a festival of democracy and we all should enjoy this whole process. Therefore, after having meetings with a large number of hotel and restaurant owners, it was decided to offer a 20 per cent discount on food and beverages for everyone showing their inked fingers to the hotel or restaurant staffers," he said.
Adequate security arrangements have been put in place in all three districts – North and Middle Andaman, South Andaman and Nicobar – under the supervision of Director General of Police Devesh Chandra Srivastava.
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