Polling for Zilla Parishad, Panchayat Samiti today

Staff Reporter :

The polling for 59 seats of Zilla Parishad (ZP) and 116 seats of 13 Panchayat Samitis (PS) in the district is scheduled on Tuesday. The administration is all geared up for the exercise. On Monday, the election material was distributed to the polling staff. The counting of votes and declaration of results is scheduled on January 8 (Wednesday). In all, 270 candidates are contesting for 58 ZP seats, and 497 are in the fray for 116 PS wards in 13 tehsils.

A total of 14,19,708 voters will exercise their franchise on Tuesday. These voters include 7,36,643 men, 6,83,054 women, and 11 others. Among 13 tehsils Hingna has the highest number of ZP circles -- seven -- and the highest number of PS segments -- 14. In the tehsil, total 1,60,781 voters will exercise their franchise. Nagpur (Rural) tehsil has second-highest number of ZP circles -- six -- and PS segments -- 12. However, the number of voters is the highest among all 13 tehsils -- 1,98,885. Bhiwapur has only two ZP circles and four PS segments, the lowest among tehsils in district.

The number of voters in this tehsil is also the lowest -- 57,118. The administration has appointed 247 sector officers for conduct of polling on Tuesday in the district. A total of 3,993 ballot units and 2,012 control units of electronic voting machines have been deployed at various polling booths. Nagpur (Rural) tehsil has the highest number of ballot units and control units in the district. For, the number of candidates in ZP and PS is more there. There are otal 1,814 polling booths.

Each polling booth will have four staffers. Avinash Katade, Deputy District Election Officer (ZP/PS elections), told ‘The Hitavada’ that the election material was distributed to the polling staff. The polling parties have gone to the polling stations allotted to them, he said. Of 58 ZP circles, 25 are reserved for General, 10 for Scheduled Caste (SC), seven for Scheduled Tribe (ST), and 16 for Other Backward Classes (OBC) candidates. Of 58 seats, 29 are reserved for women. The reservation of circles and PS wards/segments has been considered as finalised on May 17, 2019. Besides, the electoral rolls as on November 11, 2019, are considered as final.

ZP: Prominent candidates in fray Congress and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) are contesting the ZP elections in alliance. Whereas, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Shiv Sena are contesting independently. The prominent candidates of Congress-NCP include Salil Deshmukh, son of Home Minister Anil Deshmukh. Salil Deshmukh had filed papers from Yenwa and Metpanjra circles. Dinesh Bang, son of another senior NCP leader Rameshchandra Bang, is contesting from Raipur circle in Hingna tehsil. Other prominent Congress-NCP candidates include Shekhar Kolhe (NCP, Paradsinga circle), Manohar Kumbhare (Congress, Kelvad), Shanta Kumre (Congress, Pathrai-Wadamba), Kailas Raut (Congress, Bothiya Palora-Umri), Tapeshwar Vaidya (Congress, Dhanla), Dnyaneshwar Kambhale (Congress, Koradi), Rekha Masram (NCP, Satgaon), Ujjwala Bodhare (NCP, Khadki), Anand Patil (NCP, Takalghat), Megha Titarmare (Congress, Veltur), Pramila Jibhkate (Congress, Silli), and Shankar Dadmal (Congress, Kargaon). Of these, Tapeshwar Vaidya was previously with Shiv Sena.

The BJP list has maximum new names. The prominent candidates include Anil Nidhan, a close associate of former Guardian Minister of district Chandrashekhar Bawankule. Nidhan is contesting from Gumthala circle in Kamptee tehsil. Namrata Vijayrao Raut (Godhani-Railway), former ZP member Ambadas Ukey’s daughter Dr Pooja (Sonegaon-Nipani), former ZP member Ruprao Shingne’s wife Pratibha (Borkhedi-Fatak), Rajendra Harde (Nildoh), Sarita Muley (Bela), and Dr Pratibha Mandaokar (Nand) also are in the fray.

Kalmeshwar tehsil has 3 ZP, 6 PS seats

Kalmeshwar Correspondent :

Kalmeshwar tehsil has three circles of Zilla Parishad (ZP) and six wards of Panchayat Samiti (PS). In all, 72,280 voters are enrolled of which38,181 are men and 36,099 are women. The ZP circles include Telkamthi, Dhapewada, and Gondkhairy. Telkamthi is reserved for SC (Woman), Dhapewada is for SC (General), and Gondkhairy for ST (General). There are total 98 polling stations in the tehsil. Shekhar Ghadge, Deputy Collector, is the Election Officer for Kalmeshwar tehsil and Sachin Yadav, Tehsildar, is Assistant Election Officer.

15 in fray for 4 ZP circles in Katol tehsil

Katol Correspondent :

Polling stations, 132 in number, are all set for the polling for ZP and PS elections on Tuesday. The polling will start at 7.30 am and end at 5.30 pm. Total 15 candidates are in the fray for four ZP circles namely Yenwa, Paradsingh, Metpanjra, and Kondhali. Besides, there are 30 in the fray for eight PS wards. In Yenwa circle, there is a keen contest. In the tehsil, Bharatiya Janata Party, Nationalist Congress Party, Congress, Shiv Sena, and Shetkari Kamgar Paksha, and Independent candidates are in the fray. Ajay Charde, Tehsildar, said that the administration had made all necessary arrangements for smooth conduct of polling. Nagesh Jadhav, Deputy Superintendent of Police, said that total 660 police personnel will be deployed at polling stations. Shrikant Umbarkar, Sub-Divisional Officer; Ajay Charde, Tehsildar; Nilesh Kadam, Naib Tehsildar, and others are supervising the process.