Of the 523 candidates, 198 women are contesting the civic elections being held after a gap of 20 years, officials said on Tuesday.
State Election Commissioner (SEC) T. John Longkumer said 670 nominations were filed and 79 candidacies were subsequently withdrawn, while 64 candidates were elected unopposed. During the scrutiny, four candidates were rejected.
He said no candidate is contesting in the municipal councils in eastern Nagaland, where ENPO has called for a boycott of voting in support of its demand for statehood for the 'Frontier Territory of Nagaland'.
Longkumer, former Director General of Nagaland Police, said a total of 2,76,229 voters, including 1,40,167 women, are eligible to exercise their right to vote in the urban body poll. Of the total 418 wards of urban civic bodies, 142 are reserved for women.
SEC officials said 108 companies of state security forces would be deployed to maintain security, while 8,100 election officials and staff would be assigned to conduct civic polls.
Longkumer said many national and local parties are participating in the elections. These include the ruling BJP, the Congress, the Janata Dal-United, the Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP), the Naga People's Front (NPF), the rising People's Party, the Republican Party of India-Athawale and the Lok Party. Janshakti. -Ram Vilas.
Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio urged voters to cast their vote in the civic polls on Wednesday.
"As Nagaland contests the ULB elections, I request all eligible voters to cast their votes. ULBs are crucial as they provide a platform for citizen participation in urban management and development of our towns and cities. "My best wishes for a peaceful and successful peace on election day," he said in his X.
Governor La Ganesan, Chief Minister Rio, the state government and many organizations had earlier urged the ENPO to withdraw its call to boycott the vote, but the Naga body remained firm on its stand.
Earlier, the SEC issued a show-cause notice to the ENPO, the apex body of seven backward Naga tribes in eastern Nagaland, urging people to refrain from participating in civic polls to press their demand for statehood. People of the six districts, which have over four lakh voters, stayed indoors on April 19 during polling in the state's only Lok Sabha constituency, heeding their call.
Meanwhile, the powerful Naga Students Federation (NSF) appealed to the people of Nagaland to elect "Nagas by blood and not by adoption" in Wednesday's ULB elections in the state.
NSF vice-president Mteisuding said electing non-Naga people to local government would pose a significant risk to the preservation of Naga cultural heritage.
Significantly, the upcoming local elections in three municipal councils and 36 municipal councils are the first municipal elections in the state to be held with 33 per cent reservation for women.
The ULB elections were delayed by about 20 years after tribal bodies and civil society organizations opposed reservation for women. After intensive consultations with Naga organizations and civil society by the state government, the state Assembly, in November last year, passed the Nagaland Municipal Bill 2023 with 33 per cent reservation for women.
State Election Commissioner (SEC) T. John Longkumer said 670 nominations were filed and 79 candidacies were subsequently withdrawn, while 64 candidates were elected unopposed. During the scrutiny, four candidates were rejected.
He said no candidate is contesting in the municipal councils in eastern Nagaland, where ENPO has called for a boycott of voting in support of its demand for statehood for the 'Frontier Territory of Nagaland'.
Longkumer, former Director General of Nagaland Police, said a total of 2,76,229 voters, including 1,40,167 women, are eligible to exercise their right to vote in the urban body poll. Of the total 418 wards of urban civic bodies, 142 are reserved for women.
SEC officials said 108 companies of state security forces would be deployed to maintain security, while 8,100 election officials and staff would be assigned to conduct civic polls.
Longkumer said many national and local parties are participating in the elections. These include the ruling BJP, the Congress, the Janata Dal-United, the Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP), the Naga People's Front (NPF), the rising People's Party, the Republican Party of India-Athawale and the Lok Party. Janshakti. -Ram Vilas.
Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio urged voters to cast their vote in the civic polls on Wednesday.
"As Nagaland contests the ULB elections, I request all eligible voters to cast their votes. ULBs are crucial as they provide a platform for citizen participation in urban management and development of our towns and cities. "My best wishes for a peaceful and successful peace on election day," he said in his X.
Governor La Ganesan, Chief Minister Rio, the state government and many organizations had earlier urged the ENPO to withdraw its call to boycott the vote, but the Naga body remained firm on its stand.
Earlier, the SEC issued a show-cause notice to the ENPO, the apex body of seven backward Naga tribes in eastern Nagaland, urging people to refrain from participating in civic polls to press their demand for statehood. People of the six districts, which have over four lakh voters, stayed indoors on April 19 during polling in the state's only Lok Sabha constituency, heeding their call.
Meanwhile, the powerful Naga Students Federation (NSF) appealed to the people of Nagaland to elect "Nagas by blood and not by adoption" in Wednesday's ULB elections in the state.
NSF vice-president Mteisuding said electing non-Naga people to local government would pose a significant risk to the preservation of Naga cultural heritage.
Significantly, the upcoming local elections in three municipal councils and 36 municipal councils are the first municipal elections in the state to be held with 33 per cent reservation for women.
The ULB elections were delayed by about 20 years after tribal bodies and civil society organizations opposed reservation for women. After intensive consultations with Naga organizations and civil society by the state government, the state Assembly, in November last year, passed the Nagaland Municipal Bill 2023 with 33 per cent reservation for women.
