All arrangements are in place for byelection to the Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency on Wednesday.
Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is making her electoral debut from Wayanad, the seat vacated by Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha and her brother, Rahul Gandhi, who kept the Rae Bareli constituency in Uttar Pradesh from where also he won.
As many as 16 candidates are contesting in the Wayanad bypoll, including United Democratic Front nominee Ms. Vadra, Left Democratic Front’s Sathyan Mokeri, and National Democratic Alliance’s Navya Haridas.
Mr. Mokeri and Ms. Haridas, along with party members, were engaged in a silent campaign across various parts of the constituency on Tuesday. Ms. Vadra is currently staying at a private resort in Manjoora. On Tuesday, she took a casual drive to the Banasurasagar Dam, a popular tourist spot, and made a brief visit to a farmer’s house in Manjoora, near Padinharethara.
The UDF aims to secure a larger margin by fielding Ms. Vadra, while the LDF and NDA strive to capture this hill constituency from the Congress. The Congress is relying on Mr. Gandhi’s tenure as Wayanad MP from 2019 to 2024 and his popularity among local voters to retain the seat. Conversely, the LDF and BJP have accused Mr. Gandhi of neglecting the constituency following his win, attempting to sway public opinion in their favour.
The Wayanad constituency has an electorate of 1,471,742 and includes the Assembly segments of Mananthavady, Sulthan Bathery, Kalpetta, Thiruvambady, Eranad, Nilambur, and Wandoor. Among the voters, 2,004 are service voters, while 7,519 individuals, including differently abled persons and senior citizens above 85, had opted for home voting.
As many as 1,354 polling stations, including 30 auxiliary booths, will be operational across the constituency. Two polling booths are designated as high security, with special attention given to 11 locations featuring webcasting facilities.
Additionally, three polling booths have been set up for survivors of the July 30 Chooralmala landslides, including two at Chooralmala and one at Meppadi, with transportation arrangements made for these people.
Seven distribution reception centres have been established to manage voting materials, located at St. Patrick’s Higher Secondary School (Mananthavady), St. Mary’s College (Sultan Bathery), SKMJ High School (Kalpetta), St. Mary’s LP School (Koodathai), Chullakkad GUP School (Manjeri), and Amal College (Mailadi). Distribution of election materials to officials commenced on Tuesday morning.
Counting of votes will be held at eight designated locations, including SKMJ School Jubilee Hall in Kalpetta for the Mananthavady constituency, SDMLP School for Sultan Bathery, St. Mary’s L.P School for Thiruvambady, and Amal College and Mailadi Skill Development Building for Eranad, Wandoor, and Nilambur Assembly constituencies.
The election process will be supported by 1,156 polling officers, 578 second polling officers, 578 presiding officers, and 54 micro-observers.
Postal votes will be counted at a temporary SKMJ High School, Kalpetta facility. District Police Chief Taposh Basumatari announced that security measures were in place, including the deployment of inter-State and inter-district security forces.
Security checks were being conducted on both State and district borders, and provisions have been made for a strong room to safeguard election materials. An additional police presence of 2,700 personnel, including NCC and SPC members, will bolster security throughout the district.
Published – November 12, 2024 07:31 pm IST