DIMAPUR, January 16 ? Preparations for February 26, when Nagaland goes to polls alongwith two other northeastern states?Tripura and Meghalaya besides Himachal Pradesh, are on at full pace with the Election Commission hell-bent on spreading massive awareness of Electronic Voting Machines. 130 people chosen from all the 8 districts of the state will be imparted training on the use of the EVM initially. Officials of the Election Commission, New Delhi and ECIL, Hyderabad, the manufacturers of EVM will conduct the two-day training at the Zonal Council Hall, Kohima. The 130 trainees will in turn train the people who will man the booths and general masses in their respective areas.
Earlier, similar training had been conducted for the deputy commissioners and administrative officials of all the districts at Circuit House, Dimapur.
Meanwhile, Nagaland chief election officer Lalthara while talking to this correspondent, informed that the Chief Election Commissioner JM Lyngdoh alongwith election commissioners BB Tandon and TS Krishnamurthy and deputy election commissioner, Sayan Chatterjee will arrive at Kohima from Tripura on January 17 for an overnight visit to the state during which they would meet the politicians, government officials involved in the electioneering process and bureaucrats for smooth conduct of the forthcoming elections of the 60 member state legislative assembly.
The team would also supervise the preparations for the electioneering process and further delve into any misgivings and problems, which might crop up in the process. The Election Commission team would then proceed to Meghalaya.
Earlier on January 9, the Commission had met the chief secretaries, directors-general of police, home secretaries and chief electoral officers of all the three states ? Nagaland, Meghalaya and Tripura that will go to polls in the last week of the coming month. For all the three states, January 31 has been slated as the day when the process of filing of nominations would begin with the last date set for February 7. The scrutiny of nominations will be done on February 8 while the last date for withdrawal of nominations would be February 10.