The district administration here has identified 40 booths in Jorhat subdivision as very sensitive during the December 5 panchayat polls and said adequate security arrangements would be made in those booths.

Besides, 192 booths have been tagged as sensitive and 377 as relatively safe in the subdivision, said superintendent of police Vaibhav Nimbalkar.

Jorhat deputy commissioner Narayan Konwar said about 3.52 lakh voters will cast their votes. The total number of polling stations in the Jorhat subdivision will be 609.

About the new rules, he said affidavits would have to be filed by those who want to contest about existence of a sanitary facility in their respective residence and that the number of children, if more than two, were born on or before March 19, 2018, and that a verification would be done by the administration.

For someone wanting to contest for a gaon panchayat, the minimum academic qualification will be class VI for anchalik panchayat, it will be class VIII and zila parishad will be higher secondary (class XII).

Konwar said the Jorhat subdivision has been divided into six zones and 31 sectors. The total number of gaon panchayats is 57, five anchalik parishads and 12 zila parishad constituencies.

Titabar subdivision election officer N. Changmai said Titabar too has been divided into six zones, comprising seven zila parishad constituencies seats, four anchalik parishads and 33 gaon panchayats.

The number of polling stations in Titabor will be 347 for 2.11 lakh voters.

Changmai said 95 booths have been identified as very sensitive and 120 sensitive in the subdivision.

In Hailakandi deputy commissioner Adil Khan said the administration will take strict action against any candidate for violating the model code of conduct during the panchayat polls.

Hailakandi district will go to polls in the second phase on December 9 along with nine other districts, including Cachar and Karimganj.

The date of counting is on December 12 across all the 26 districts, including 14 subdivisions. Spread over 626 polling stations, Hailakandi district has 3.87 lakh electorates.

Khan hoped that the candidates, the political leaders and public representatives would cooperate with the administration for fair and smooth conduct of the elections.

The deputy commissioner said the administration has been making all-out preparations for hassle-free conduct of the elections, including security arrangements.

Khan appealed to the candidates in the fray to strictly adhere to the guidelines stipulated by the Assam State Election Commission and to spend money within the expenditure limit.

A hawk’s eye will be kept on the expenditure limit set for contesting candidates for the four levels of PRI constituencies, he added.

Superintendent of police Mohneesh Mishra also appealed to all for cooperation for smooth holding of the elections and for fair and balanced reporting.

Additional reporting by our correspondent in Hailakandi