KOHIMA, Jan 31 ? Over 10.16 lakh voters would exercise their franchise on February 26 for the election of a new 60-member Nagaland Assembly, reports PTI.
Of them, as per the newly-revised electoral rolls, the number of male voters stood at around 6.30 lakh while the female electorate were 3.86 lakh, according to official sources. As electronic voting machines (EVM) would be used for the first time in the ensuing Assembly elections, the EVMs were being displayed by the state electoral office at public places with a view to making the people familiar with the functioning of machines.
Meanwhile, political parties have already hit the campaign trail and were trying to forge electoral alliances to make up the magic figure of 31 to form the next government. The ruling Congress has decided to go it alone in the coming Assembly polls. Chief Minister SC Jamir, who is also NPCC chief, on a campaign trail in his Ungma village in Mokokchung district, told a youth rally that the newly-formed Nagaland People?s Front (NPF) was made up of frustrated, disgruntled and power-hungry politicians.
On the other hand, the NPF, which has taken a lead in forging pre-poll alliance with like-minded parties, has now constituted a five-member team for better understanding among the parties and also to ensure that it puts up a brave fight against their common rival the Congress. NPF is planning to release its proposed common minimum programme and the list of candidates at an election rally in Kohima to be held shortly. In another development, Trinamool Congress, founded by Mamata Banerjee, plans to field 10 candidates in the coming Assembly elections. The state unit of the party has begun functioning in Nagaland since Wednesday.