Himachal Assembly elections 2022: Nearly 30,000 security personnel deployed to ensure free, fair polls

Shimla (Himachal Pradesh), November 12: About 30,000 security personnel including 67 companies of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) and over 11,500 state police personnel have been deployed for the peaceful conduct of polling in Himachal Pradesh on Saturday.

Polling for 68 Assembly segments is being held in a single phase and about 50,000 government employees are on poll duty.

There are 981 critical polling stations and 901 vulnerable polling stations among the 7881 polling stations.

One such polling station is Chask Bhatori of Bharmour Tribal AC in Chamba district, which requires a 14-kilometre walk.

A total of 55,92,828 electors are eligible to vote, including 67,559 service electors and 22 NRIs.

Of the total number of eligible voters, 27,37,845 are female, 28,54,945 are male, and 38 are of the third gender. 1.93 lakh voters are between the ages of 18 and 19.

Teams of 800 people from the National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF) and the State Disaster Relief Force (SDRF) have also been mobilised.

As directed by the Chief Electoral Officer, a state disaster management plan has been developed along with district disaster management plans.

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The State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA) has deployed teams of 50 personnel each from the National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF) and the State Disaster Relief Force (SDRF) in the tribal-dominated Lahaul & Spiti and Chamba districts to respond quickly in the event of any untoward incidents or natural calamities.

The NDRF and SDRF have each deployed ten personnel to the district headquarters in Chamba and Pangi.

In addition, 10 NDRF personnel have been assigned to the district headquarters of Lahaul-Spiti, Kaza, and Udaipur.

For the assembly elections, the poll panel has also set up a total of 7,881 polling stations. Kangra district has the most polling stations (1,625), while Lahaul-Spiti district has the fewest (92).

The campaign for the Himachal Pradesh Assembly elections concluded on Thursday, with the BJP, Congress, and Aam Aadmi Party all vying for a strong showing.

A total of 412 candidates from various parties are running.

The elections will determine the fates of several prominent leaders, including Chief Minister Jairam Thakur, CLP Leader Mukesh Agnihotri, Congress Campaign Committee Chairman Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, and others.

Power in the state has switched between the BJP and Congress in recent elections. The BJP hopes to return with a strong mandate.

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