New Delhi: The stage is set for a fierce battle of the ballot in the February 26 Assembly polls in Himachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Meghalaya and Tripura in the first acid test for political parties this year.

Balloting will be held for 65 Assembly constituencies in Himachal Pradesh and 60 each in the three North Eastern states.

Polling for three snow-bound constituencies – Lahaul Spiti, Kinnaur and Pangi Bharmaur – has been deferred to June 8.

The Election Commission has also put-off the bypoll for Poreyahat Assembly constituency in Jharkhand to March 24 in view of policemen strike in the state and a section of Home Guards joining them.

More than 8.31 million voters are eligible to exercise their franchise, which will decide the fate of 1,203 candidates including four Chief Ministers Prem Kumar Dhumal (Himachal Pradesh), S C Jamir (Nagaland), Flinder Anderson Khonglam (Meghalaya), Manik Sarkar (Tripura), former Chief Ministers V B Singh, Salseng Mark, E K Mawlong, Sudhir Ranjan Majumdar and Samir Ranjan Burman.

Himachal Pradesh will witness a keen contest with Bharatiya Janata Party, Congress and Himachal Vikas Party of former Union Communication Minister Sukh Ram crossing swords.

An electorate of 4,101,093 hold the scales of 391 candidates. Prominent among them are Dhumal, V B Singh, Speaker of the dissolved Assembly Ghulam Singh Thakur, state BJP president Jai Krishen Sharma and Himachal Pradesh Congress committee president Vidya Stokes.

BJP and Congress are contesting all the 68 seats, HVC in 45, former Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan's Lok Janshakti Party in 30, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) 23, Samajwadi Party 19, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) 15, Communist Party of India (CPI) seven and Communist Party of India – Marxist (CPM) 4.

The Congress has fielded all 26 sitting members of the dissolved House, while BJP has retained only 28 members.

The BJP, Congress and the HVC have a big stake in the Assembly polls, which is likely to be crucial in certain constituencies where a neck-and-neck fight is expected.

HVC, a post-poll ally of the BJP in the last five years, hopes to play a crucial role again after the elections.

Both the BJP and the Congress are faced with rebels, who may diminish the prospects of their official candidates at the hustings.

Four BJP members, including Ram Dass Malangar, Deputy Speaker and the former Agriculture Minister Vidya Sagar, who were denied party tickets, are contesting as independents against the party candidates.

Dhumal, who is seeking re-election from Bamsam constituency, faces a strong challenge from Kuldip Singh Pathania, a former president of Himachal Pradesh Youth Congress Committee.

This is the third time that Pathania is contesting from the seat. In the last Assembly polls in 1998, he had lost to Dhumal by a margin of 8,800 votes.

HVC supremo Sukh Ram, who is seeking re-election from his old constituency, Mandi faces among others Durga Thakur (Congress) and Rani Kiran Kumari (BJP).

Mandi has always found importance on the political map of Himachal Pradesh and many of those elected have found place in the various cabinets during the past two and half decades.

Prominent among them is former Speaker Gulab Singh, who is now contesting from Jogindernagar in the same district.

In Kumarsain constituency, Pradesh Congress Committee chief Vidya Stokes is locked in a four-cornered contest.

Stokes shifted from her traditional Thego seat to fill the void created by the death of Congress stalwart Jai Bihari Lal Khachi.

In the last election, the Congress leader scored an impressive victory defeating his nearest independent rival Ghan Shyam Das by a margin of 9,575 votes.

The Nurpur and Dharmsala Assembly segments are all set to witness a battle royal as two Congress stalwarts – former HPCC chief Sat Mahajan and All India Mahila Congress president Chandresh Kumari – are making an attempt to make a comeback to state politics.

A grim battle is also on cards in Hamirpur constituency where Narinder Thakur, son of former BJP stalwart Jagdev Chand and his sister-in-law Urmila Thakur, are engaged in a bitter contest.

Former Chief Minister V B Singh is facing his traditional rival Ram Balnath of BJP in Rohroo constituency. Singh had won the seat in the last election by a record margin of 26,148 votes.

As many as 548 polling booths have been described as hyper sensitive and 1,018 as sensitive and security has been tightened to ensure a peace polling in the state.

Close fight in Nagaland: Most constituencies in Nagaland are likely to witness very close contests. Over 10 lakh voters are expected to decide the fate of 225 candidates.

Among the prominent candidates are S C Jamir, former Chief Minister Hokishe Sema (BJP) and K L Chishi of Nagaland Democratic Party and Congress defector and former Home Minister in the Jamir Cabinet Neiphiu Rio and a host of ministers.

The ruling Congress has fielded candidates in all the 60 seats, Nagaland People's Front in 55, BJP in 36, Janata Dal – United (JD-U) in seven and Nationalist Democratic Movement (NDM) in 22 seats.

Jamir is pitted against the combined opposition candidate Chabala Ao, wife of the first Chief Minister of Nagaland P Shilo Ao in the prestigious Aonglenden seat.

Sema is facing a tough fight from his Congress rival Kevi Zakiesatuo in Dimapur-1 constituency.

Except in Atoizu and Pughototo assembly segments in Zunheboto district from where former Chief Minister K L Chishi and JD (U) president are in fray, most of the constituencies across Nagaland are witnessing direct fight either between Congress and NPF or Congress and BJP.

A strict security blanket has been thrown across the hill state and night curfew clamped in Kohima district to ensure peaceful polls.

Meghalaya has 333 aspirants: In Meghalaya, over 12 lakh voters are expected to cast their ballots to decide the political fortunes of 333 aspirants.

Chief Minister Flinder Anderson Khonglam, who is contesting under the banner of Hill State People's democratic Party (HSPDP), is locked in a five-cornered contest from Sohra.

Two former Chief Ministers S C Marak (Congress) and E K Mawlong (United Democratic Party) are facing straight contests in Resubelpara and Umroi constituencies respectively.

254 in fray at Tripura: In Tripura, Chief Minister Manik Sarkar (Dhanpur), two former Chief Ministers Sudhir Ranjan Majumder and Samir Ranjan Burman are among 254 candidates in fray.

Altogether 19,35,143 voters are eligible to exercise their franchise.

A total of 2,372 polling stations have been set up and out of these 124 booths have been identified as hyper sensitive and 343 very sensitive.

The dominant Left Front partner CPM alone is contesting 55 seats and allies CPI two, All India Forward Bloc (AIFB) one and Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) two.

Counting of ballots will be held on March 1.

The term of the present Assembly in Himachal Pradesh is due to expire on March 11, Meghalaya on March 8 and Nagaland and Tripura on March 22.

Byelections in seven states: Simultaneously, byelections will be held in eight Assembly constituencies spread over seven States – two in Uttar Pradesh (Gauriganj and Haidergarh) and one each in Jammu and Kashmir (Pampore), Tamil Nadu (Sattankulam), Karnataka (Humnabad), Maharashtra (Bhokarden) and Assam (Ratabari).

Sattankulam constituency in Southern Tamil Nadu will witness the main fight between two major parties, Congress and the ruling AIADMK.

The vacancy was caused by the death of now defunct Tamil Maanila Congress (TMC) legislator, Mani Nadar.

While BJP on January 30 decided not to contest the poll, the DMK, MDMK, PMK had decided to boycott the elections, apprehending large-scale misuse of official machinery.

The ruling party has put up L Neelamegavarnam and the Congress has fielded A Mahendran. JD(U) has fielded S Sundarapandian.

The Pampore Assembly constituency in Jammu and Kashmir fell vacant following the killing of People's Democratic Party member Abdul Aziz Mir in December. Main contestants in fray are from ruling PDP and Opposition National Conference.

Of the two bypolls in Uttar Pradesh, the one in Haidergarh Assembly constituency was necessitated by the resignation of former Chief Minister Rajnath Singh after his election to Rajya Sabha, while Noor Mohammad's death left the Gauriganj seat vacant.

The Humnabad bypoll in Karnataka has been ordered as the election of sitting member Subash Kallur was declared void while election to Poriyahat seat in Jharkhand arose following resignation of Pradeep Yadav.

Bypoll in Ratabari Assembly constituency in Assam was caused due to the death of independent MLA Rathish Ranjan Choudhury.

PTI