Campaign ends for Nagpur division graduates' constituency Council poll; voting on October 23

Campaigning for the Legislative Council election from the Nagpur division graduates' constituency officially ended at 4 pm on Wednesday. Attention now turns to administrative arrangements and voter turnout. Voting will be held on Friday, October 23, from 8 am to 4 pm. Votes will be counted and the official results declared on October 27.

In the six districts of the Nagpur division, 2,55,603 registered voters are eligible to vote in the election. They include 1,47,280 men, 1,08,301 women and 22 voters in the "other" category.

A total of 445 polling stations have been set up across the division. Nagpur district alone has the most, with 246.

District-wise, Nagpur has the most voters at 1,44,466, followed by Chandrapur with 32,262, Gondia with 22,176, Wardha with 21,742, Bhandara with 21,349 and Gadchiroli with 13,608. Nagpur thus has the largest electorate among the six districts and Gadchiroli the smallest.

After Nagpur, Chandrapur has 58 polling stations, Wardha 41, Gondia 39, Bhandara 35 and Gadchiroli 26.

Nagpur district accounts for more than half of both the total voters and the total polling centres. However, political observers say the participation of graduate voters in the other five districts will play an important role in deciding the final result.

The division's election machinery has deployed a large staff so that work at the booths runs smoothly, voters can cast their votes comfortably and election rules are strictly followed. A total of 2,535 state government officers and employees have been deployed directly on polling duty. 476 Central government officers have also been made available. In addition, 32 officers from Central public sector undertakings (PSUs) are engaged in the work.

Divisional Commissioner and Returning Officer Vijayalakshmi Bidri assured voters and candidates that the administration is fully prepared and all necessary protocols have been finalised.

Vijayalakshmi Bidri said, "The manpower plan needed to conduct the election process in a transparent, safe and peaceful manner has been finalised. The administration has made the necessary preparations so that voters face no problem on polling day."

Before Friday morning, all polling teams will be dispatched to their respective centres with the necessary polling material, security arrangements and facilities to assist voters.