Voting underway for historic civic body polls in Nagaland
Kohima (PTI): Polling was underway for elections to 25 civic bodies in Nagaland on Wednesday morning, amid tight security arrangements, an SEC official said.
This was a historic election in the northeastern state as the polling to three municipalities and 22 town councils was being conducted after a gap of 20 years.
The urban local body polls were being held for the first time with 33 per cent women reservation, said the official at the Nagaland State Election Commission.
The government had announced elections to urban local bodies several times in the past but objections from tribal bodies and civil society organisations against reservation for women, and tax on land and properties had held back the polls.
Voting began at 7.30 am and will continue till 4 pm.
"Polling has been peaceful so far. Security has been beefed up for the elections," the SEC officials said.
Over 2.23 lakh voters, including 1,13,521 women, are eligible to exercise their franchise to decide the fate of 523 candidates from 11 political parties.
Instead of EVMs, voting was being conducted in 420 polling stations through ballot papers, he said.
Meanwhile, the Eastern Nagaland Peoples' Organisation (ENPO) has decided that the six districts in the region will not participate in the elections.
ENPO, the apex body of seven Naga tribes living in the six eastern districts, has been demanding a 'Frontier Nagaland Territory', claiming that the region has been neglected for years.
There are 14 town councils in the ENPO area. As many as 59 nominations were accepted from the area but the tribal bodies compelled the candidates to withdraw their nominations.
The ENPO also refrained from participating in the April 19 Lok Sabha polls for the lone seat in the state.
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Man kills 12-year-old nephew over property dispute in Karnataka’s Sindhanur
Sindhanur: A 12-year-old boy was killed and his mother seriously injured after a man allegedly attacked his elder brother’s family with a knife over a property dispute in Alabanur village of Sindhanur taluk on Wednesday morning.
The deceased has been identified as Nagaraj Siddappa Alvi (12). Amrutha Siddappa (42) sustained serious injuries in the attack. Police said the accused is Basavaraj Rudrappa Alvi, the younger brother of the victim boy’s father.
According to preliminary information, Basavaraj had arrived in Alabanur village on Tuesday and was staying at his mother’s house.
On Wednesday morning, he allegedly went to the house of his brother Siddappa carrying a knife. At the time, Siddappa’s wife Amrutha and children Nagaraj and Dhanush were present in the house.
Police said the accused allegedly attacked them with the knife. Nagaraj died in the incident, while Amrutha and Dhanush suffered serious injuries.
The injured were shifted to the government hospital in the city for treatment.
Deputy Superintendent of Police G. Chandrashekhar visited the spot and gathered information.
Sources said Chinnamma Rudrappa of Alabanur village has two sons Siddappa, who lives in Alabanur, and Basavaraj, who resides in Alliganur village of Siruguppa taluk.
Police suspect the long-standing property dispute between the two brothers led to the fatal attack.
