Five assembly polls to have 8.2 cr male, 7.8 cr female voters: EC

NEW DELHI: Nearly 16 crore voters will be eligible to vote during the five assembly elections in Mizoram, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Telangana, the Election Commission said on Monday .

Addressing a press conference to announce the schedule for the last set of assembly elections ahead of next years Lok Sabha polls, Chief Election Commissiner Rajiv Kumar said these five states will have 1.77 lakh polling stations.

Of these, 1.01 lakh stations will have webcasting facilities.

More than 8,000 polling stations will be managed by women, he said. Polls in the five states will have 8.2 crore male and 7.8 crore female voters, the Election Commission said. There are 60.2 lakh first-time voters.

''We have gathered here after a gap of six months. These elections are significant for the country and after this we will meet for the announcement of the Lok Sabha elections,'' Kumar said. ''We have met all stakeholders, including political parties and enforcement agencies, while preparing for assembly elections in Mizoram, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, MP and Telangana,'' he said.

The CEC added that the Election Commission has placed special emphasis on making electoral rolls inclusive and the focus will also be on ''roll-to-poll'' to ensure that all voters come to vote.

While the Congress is in power in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh is ruled by the BJP,Telangana by the Bharat Rashtra Samithi and Mizoram by NDA partner Mizo National Front (MNF).