The stage is set for tomorrow's assembly polls in Maharashtra, Haryana and Arunachal Pradesh, the first crucial test of popularity for major political parties after the Lok Sabha polls.<br/><br/>The Maharashtra assembly elections tomorrow will decide the fate of 3,559 candidates in the fray for 288 seats in the state. Polling will begin at 7 in morning and will conclude in evening at 5. Polling will end two hours early before the scheduled time out of security concerns in five constituencies in Vidarbha that are naxalite-infested areas.<br/><br/>A total of 7,58,11,245 electorate, comprising 3,60,76,469 females, are eligible to exercise their franchise this year. Among them 80.35 percent have photo identity cards. The number of electorates has been increased by more than one crore as compared to previous assembly elections.<br/><br/>State Electoral Officer Debashish Chakravarty said that preparations at all the 84,136 polling stations have been put in place to ensure a free, fair and incident-free voting. DGP Elections A. N. Roy said that security is especially tight in the naxalite-affected districts of Gadchiroli, Chandrapur, Gondia and Bhandara, with additional forces having been deployed in Gadchiroli district.<br/><br/>The fate of 3,559 candidates including Chief Minister Ashok Chavan, deputy Chief minister Chhagan Bhujbal and 37 other ministers will be decided tomorrow. The highest number of 28 candidates is in Aurangabad east constituency in Marathwada while the lowest number of four candidates each is in Dahanu and Islampur Assembly constituencies.<br/><br/>There are 1,820 Independents, mostly rebels in fray. The number of women candidates is 211. In Haryana, the election commission has deployed more than 70,000 government officials on poll duty for smooth conduct of polls. The voters are given knowledge of EVM and duty officials have completed the poll exercises.<br/><br/>All officers and employees have been told to do their duty honestly and fairly. Strict orders have been issued in this regard. To make the poll process transparent the identity cards have been issued to the correspondents, so that they can see the poll process at polling centers falling in their jurisdiction.<br/><br/>In Arunachal Pradesh, tight security arrangements have been put into place to ensure peaceful polling tomorrow. All the polling personnel have reached their designated locations including those in the far flung and interior areas. The administration has also banned movement of private vehicles in Itanagar, Capital Complex, Tirap and Changlang areas on polling day. Election for 57 assembly seats will be held in 2005 polling booths.<br/><br/>Adequate security personnel have been deployed in vulnerable areas including Tirap and Changlang districts which have witnessed militant violence in the past. Checking at border gates near Assam and Nagaland has been heightened and the gates will be sealed tomorrow. Patrolling has also been intensified throughout the state.<br/><br/>Chief Electoral Officer Yeshi Tsering told AIR that poll preparation has been completed. The remaining 40 percent of poll personnel for nearby locations have reached their destinations by this evening. The CEO said two helicopters have been kept at Naharlagun helipad for emergency transportation of security personnel. Meanwhile, the state government has announced holiday tomorrow. Prohibition of liquor has also been put into force from October 11 to 14 and October 21 to 24 throughout the state.