Mizoram polls: From buses to trekking for election officials

Aizwal: From heavy vehicles to two wheelers, small boats and trekking on foot, all modes are being used to ferry over 4,000 polling officials over topographically diverse Mizoram, where Assembly elections will be held on 25 November. “For transport of polling officials we are using heavy motor vehicles, light motor vehicles, medium motor vehicles, two-wheelers, dinghies (small boats) and in inaccessible places election officials have to walk on foot,” the state’s chief electoral officer Ashwini Kumar said in Aizawl.[caption id=“attachment_1242315” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Poll time. Reuters[/caption] Over 1,800 vehicles, including 229 buses, 12 dinghies will be used as transport, while two-wheelers and trekking will be the norm at 27 places. “There are places which are accessible only by river and you don’t have bridges, so in those places dinghies will be used,” Kumar said. The remotest parts of the state are the districts of Lawngtlai and Saiha, where boats will be used. The state, spread over 21,000 sq km, is known as the land of valleys, lakes, rivers and rolling hills, with around 21 major hill ranges or peaks running across its length and breadth. The Election Commission of India is also deploying 5,806 security personnel across eight districts of the state. With over 10 lakh population, around 6.86 lakh enlisted voters will exercise their franchise for electing 40 members of the House from among 142 candidates. The overall budget for the elections is Rs 24.3 crore. PTI