Ballot papers have reached all the districts for the civic elections to be held on January 23 in the state. Election Commissioner Sushil Kumar reviewed the election preparations with DMs and SSPs of all the districts on Friday. He directed that compliance of the code of conduct should be ensured till the completion of voting. State Election Commissioner Sushil Kumar reviewed through video conferencing and directed to conduct it in a fair and peaceful manner. The commissioner said, ballot papers have reached all the districts. He asked all the departments engaged in election duty to successfully complete the civic local body elections with mutual coordination. The State Election Commissioner directed all DMs and SSPs to ensure compliance of the Model Code of Conduct till the completion of the voting process. He also directed that other necessary activities including packaging and bundling should be completed on time to deliver the ballot papers to the booth. Said, proper arrangements for the kits, ballot boxes etc. to be given to the polling parties should also be completed on time. He said that all the training programs given to the polling personnel for all the activities including voting and counting of votes should be completed on time. The Commissioner said that the dispatch of polling parties, their route chart, proper arrangements of vehicles for security parties and traffic etc. should be prepared keeping in mind all the aspects.
The Commissioner said, after voting, the polling parties get very late in returning, due to which there is no transport facility for them to return home. After collecting the ballot boxes from the polling parties, ensure that they are provided payment based transport facility to reach their destination. On this occasion, Secretary State Election Commission Rahul Kumar Goyal, Joint Secretary Kamlesh Mehta and Deputy Secretary Virendra Rawat along with other senior officials were present.
Additional security forces at sensitive booths
State Election Commissioner Sushil Kumar also directed to give special emphasis on the assessment and deployment of security forces required for sensitive and hypersensitive polling stations. He said, the police and administration teams should regularly visit their areas and keep the arrangements of polling stations and polling booths tight. Said, law & order and logistics arrangements should be ensured by visiting the areas. Said, all sector and zonal magistrates should regularly visit the polling stations and polling booths falling under their areas and ensure arrangements for conducting the elections in a fair and peaceful manner. Expressing satisfaction over the seizure of illegal drugs including liquor, he said, enforcement should be ensured to stop such activities. He said that adequate amount of fuel should be kept in reserve at the marked petrol pumps for fueling vehicles engaged in polling duty.
