Md. Nur Islam Noyon, Dinajpur Correspondent: The political arena is heating up in Dinajpur over the upcoming elections. However, an unknown fear has filled the minds of ordinary voters. According to the latest information from the law enforcement agencies, more than half of the 844 polling stations in the district, that is, 539 centers, are now risky. In percentage terms, which is about 63.86 percent of the total centers. Of these centers, 257 have been identified as more risky or very important by the District Police Special Branch (DSB).
​Police sources claim that not only the fear of political conflict, but also geographical location and past history are being seen as reasons for their names being listed as risky. Especially centers where the number of voters is very high, where there is no boundary wall or centers that are adjacent to the border and are inaccessible are now the biggest cause of headache for the administration. In addition, additional vigilance is being maintained in centers located near the homes of influential candidates and areas where vandalism or arson has occurred in the past.
​According to information received from the DSB office, the geographical distribution of the 257 ‘high-risk’ centers is as follows: Dinajpur-1: (Birganj-Kaharol) 86. Dinajpur-6: (Birampur-Hakimpur-Nawabganj-Ghoraghat) 66 Dinajpur-5: (Parbatipur-Phulbari) 46 Dinajpur-4: (Khansama-Chirirbandar) 25 Dinajpur-2: (Bochaganj-Birol) 22 Dinajpur-3: (Sadar) 12. The remaining 282 centers have been classified as risky and 305 centers as normal.
​Despite the election and administration’s talk of maximum preparation, the common people are not feeling uneasy. DI-1 Shahidul Islam of the district police said that there will be additional security measures at risky centers. However, various discussions are going on from tea tables to political chats about whether voters will finally be able to vote without any problems in centers adjacent to the border and in remote areas.
The total number of voters in the district is 26 lakh 60 thousand 734. Out of this, the number of female voters (13 lakh 31 thousand 255) is slightly more than that of male voters (13 lakh 29 thousand 457). The number of polling booths has been determined as 4 thousand 993 against a total of 844 centers in the district.
The seat-wise voter statistics show that the highest number of voters is in Dinajpur-6 constituency (5 lakh 57 thousand 693 people) and the lowest in Dinajpur-2 constituency (3 lakh 71 thousand 478 people).
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