Voting to elect local representatives in Provinces 1, 5 and 7 is set to take place on Wednesday amid heightened security, with clashes and bombs in the run-up to the second phase of local polls raising concerns.

The government has said it is deploying more than 160,000 security personnel, including 47,000 Nepal Army personnel, for the polls.

Incidents of clashes and blasts were reported from various parts of the country in the past few days.

A youth died on Monday night when an explosive he was carrying went off in Dhangadi. One incident of blast was reported in Tehrathum, while improvised explosive devices were found in Kanchanpur, Dang and Jhapa.

“Strong security measures have been put in place,” said Minister for Home Affairs Janardan Sharma. “People can go to vote without any fear.”

According to the Ministry of Home Affairs, 39,980 Nepal Police personnel have been deployed in 35 districts for the polls. They will be assisted by 26,250 Armed Police Force personnel and 48,896 temporary cops. The Army will be mobilised in the peripheral areas of polling stations while temporary cops will help in managing queues. Officials from the National Investigation Department will also be present at polling centres. Though the government has decided to hold polls in Province 2 on September 18 after the agitating Rastriya Janata Party-Nepal, a unified force of six Madhes-based parties, warned of disrupting polls, security concerns still remain.

According to sources, Tarai districts of Provinces 1 and 5 have been deemed “sensitive” in view of anti-election activities in the past few days.

At least 20 to 25 personnel will guard the “most sensitive” polling stations while patrol teams will constantly monitor them, according to the ministry.

In Province 1, the government has identified 350 polling centres as “highly sensitive” and 772 as “sensitive”. In Province 5, Rupandehi, Kapilvastu and Nawalparasi districts have been marked as “sensitive”. Army choppers will patrol the areas deemed sensitive, while other helicopters will be on standby in Kathmandu and Pokhara, said the ministry.