Bypoll to Arunachal Pradesh assembly seat to be held on Oct 21

The Election Commission on Saturday announced that the by-election to the Khonsa West Assembly seat in Arunachal Pradesh's Tirap district will be held on October 21.

The votes will be counted on October 24, according to a notification issued by Joint Chief Electoral Officer D J Bhattacharjee here.

The bypoll was necessitated after Tirong Aboh, who was elected from the seat in the last state assembly elections in May this year, was shot dead at 12 Mile area in the district before the counting.

Aboh, who was seeking a re-election from the constituency on a ticket from National People's Party (NPP), was on his way to Khonsa from Dibrugarh in Assam on May 21, when the suspected NSCN rebels opened fire at him and 10 others including his son and security personnel.

He was elected from the Khonsa West seat in 2014 on a Peoples' Party of Arunachal (PPA) ticket.

A gazette notification for holding the bypoll will be issued on September 23 while the last date for filing nominations is September 30 and the scrutiny of them will be done on October 1, the notice said.

The last date for withdrawal of papers has been fixed on October 3, it said.

"The model code of conduct will be applicable to whole of Tirap district in the state and will remain effective till the election process is over," the notification said.

As many as 10, 185 electors including 5,226 female voters will exercise their electoral franchise in 23 polling booths in the constituency.