Sonitpur (Assam) [India], April 18 (HBTV): The Sonitpur district election office dispatched polling parties to their polling stations on Thursday for the first phase of Lok Sabha elections.  

The first phase of polls in five parliamentary constituencies--Dibrugarh, Jorhat, Lakhimpur, Sonitpur, and Kaziranga--will be held on April 19. 

For the Sonitpur parliamentary constituency, dispatch of polling parties and security personnel started from Darrang College in Assam's Sonitpur district on Thursday.  

There are more than 1800 polling stations in the Sonitpur Lok Sabha seat. 

Kavita Kakati Konwar, additional district commissioner of Sonitpur district, told ANI that nearly 5,000 polling personnel will be dispatched to 1100 polling stations and more than 10,000 polling personnel will be engaged in polling for the Sonitpur Lok Sabha seat.  

‘All preparations have been made and we are fully prepared to hold the elections. We have set up model polling stations as well. There are around 150 women’s polling stations,’ Kavita Kakati Konwar said.  

More than 16.25 lakh voters in the Sonitpur Lok Sabha seat will exercise their franchise in 1,878 polling stations. 

Earlier, the chief electoral officer of Assam, Anurag Goel, said on Wednesday that all the vehicles carrying EVMs will be equipped with GPS tracking devices and satellite phones will be made available in far-flung areas.   

"We have arranged GPS tracking of all the vehicles that will be carrying EVMs and this will be monitored by the district election officer, CEO, and Election Commission. We have also provided satellite phones in very hard-to-reach areas," said Anurag Goel.  

(ANI) This is a syndicated news feed. HBTV has edited it for clarity.