Tuesday, Mar 17, 2026 21:15 [IST]
Last Update: Monday, Mar 16, 2026 15:43 [IST]
DARJEELING,: Preparations have been made for the upcoming Legislative Assembly
polls, the district administrations of Darjeeling and Kalimpong said, with the
Model Code of Conduct (MCC) coming into force from Sunday following the
announcement of the election date.
According
to information provided by the respective District Magistrates, the election
scheduled for April 23 will see Darjeeling district having a total voter strength
of 11,48,209, while Kalimpong district has 2,01,931 electors, including
adjudication cases.
At
present, Kalimpong district has 6,790 electors under adjudication, while
Darjeeling district has 80,003 such cases.
“Teams
have been constituted under the heads of Election Expenditure Monitoring, Media
Cell and Model Code of Conduct (MCC) Cell following ECI guidelines. The
district’s Complaint Monitoring Cell is also functioning, with the 24×7
toll-free number 1950 available for citizens’ complaints,” said Darjeeling
District Magistrate Sunil Agarwala.
When
asked about names deleted and those under adjudication following the Special
Intensive Revision (SIR), he said, “As per Supreme Court guidelines, the review
of adjudication cases is being carried out by the judicial team. Those
permitted by them will be allowed to cast their votes, while names that have
been deleted remain removed.”
The
Darjeeling DM, however, could not comment on when the process undertaken by the
judicial team would be completed. He also said that about 50 companies of
central forces have been deployed across Darjeeling district, which comprises
six Assembly constituencies. He added that live webcasting will be conducted
from polling stations and CCTV cameras will also be installed.
Kalimpong
District Magistrate KuhukBhusan, meanwhile, said: “Naka points with SST, FST
and MCC teams have been made functional to enforce the provisions of Election
Expenditure Monitoring and the MCC. The District Contact Centre (DCC)/District
Control Room is also in place. Citizens can avail the toll-free number to lodge
complaints, suggestions and queries. Election-related training of different
stakeholders, including police officials, has also been completed in the
district.”
Both
District Magistrates, who are also the District Election Officers, also spoke
about the prohibitions in place with the MCC now in force. They said the last
date for filing nominations is April 6, scrutiny will take place on April 7,
and the last date for withdrawal is April 9. Counting of votes is scheduled for
May 4.
Darjeeling
district will have a total of 1,517 polling stations, including main and
auxiliary ones, spread across 1,054 locations. The district has 7,739 service
electors and 7,662 PWD electors.
In
Darjeeling district, Darjeeling Assembly Constituency (AC) has 2,17,170 voters,
while Kurseong AC has 2,21,235 electors. In the plains, Matigara–Naxalbari AC
has 2,77,004 voters, Siliguri AC has 2,03,405, and Phansidewa AC has 2,29,395
voters.
Kalimpong
district, which comprises only the Kalimpong AC, has 1,857 service voters and
2,509 PWD electors. The district has 293 polling stations across 251 locations.
