Over 2.17 crore voters in Assam: CEO

Over 2.17 crore people will be eligible to vote in the three-phase Lok Sabha election in Assam, including 7.06 lakh first time voters, a top election official said here Monday.

Assam, Chief Electoral Officer, Mukesh Chandra Sahu addressing a press conference here, said the number of voters are being updated on a daily basis and the final figure will be published just before the polling.

"As per the last summary revision published on January 1 this year, we have a total electorate of 2,17,60,604 across Assam. Out of this, 1,11,32,782 are male and 1,06,27,319 are female," he said.

The CEO said with announcement of the polling dates on Sunday by the Election Commission of India, the modal code of conduct (MCC) comes into force with immediate effect and all the mechanism like flying squads and static surveillance teams to monitor that have been activated.

"We will also have an app -- cVIGIL. Anyone can take a picture or video and upload it in the app. Then our team will go and take action. The MCC is for having a level playing field for all candidates and we will implement that strictly. There is no question of any bias to ruling party candidates (as alleged by the opposition)," he added.

To oversee the entire process, the ECI will send general observers and expenditure observers, while police observers may also be sent depending on the requirement
When asked about the first time voters, Sahu said: "We have divided the voters as per age cohorts. In the 18-19 years category, we have 7,06,489 people, who are first time voters. However, there are some more people who did not register their names in before last elections and did it this time. They are also first time voters and fall in 20-29 years bracket. "