The polling for the vacant posts of pradhans and members of gram panchayats in several blocks of Dehradun districts-Raipur, Doiwala, Vikasnagar, Sahaspur and Kalsi -will be held on December 16 and the counting will take place on December 18. Uttarakhand State Election Commission having announced the schedule of the by-elections to the vacant posts, the by-election process for the three-tier rural body has started. The filing of nomination papers, polling and counting of votes must be completed between the period from December 4 to December 18.
Dehradun District Magistrate SA Murugeshan who is also the District Election Officer (Panchayat) said that by-elections to elect new members of the gram panchayat member, pradhans of the gram panchayats and members of kshetra panchayats would be held between December 4 and December 18 in the district. Divulging further details, he said that the candidates can submit their nomination papers on December 4 and December 5. Scrutiny of the nomination papers would be held on December 6. Candidates can withdraw their nomination between 10 am and 1 pm on December 7. Election symbols to the candidates would be released on December 8. The polling would be held between 8 am and 5 pm on December 16 . The counting of votes would begin from 8 am on December 18.
He said, “We have appointed the returning officers and the assistant returning officers for the blocks concerned to ensure free and fair by- elections.”
Baijanti Prasad Khanduri, Block development officer, Kalsi has been made retuning officer for Kalsi election- bound area while assistant development officer, social welfare Miththan lal as the assistant returning officer.
Vikasnagar BDO BS Jhingwan has been made returning officer in Vikasnagar while Puja Pal, assistant development officer, social welfare as assistant returning officer. Sahaspur BDO Shakuntala Shah has been made returning officer in Vikasnagar while Kundan Ram Arya, Yuva Kalyan officer, PRD as assistant returning officer. Raipur BDO DS Rawat has been made returning officer in Raipur while Minakshi Upadhyay, assistant development officer, Social welfare, as assistant returning officer. Doiwala BDO Anita Panwar has been appointed as the returning officer while Mahesh Pratap, assistant development officer, Social welfare, as assistant returning officer.
The election officer said that the code of conduct has come into effect with the issuance of the notification of the by elections in the areas where such elections are due and instruction has been given to the ROs and AROs to ensure peaceful completion of the process. He said that everything from security point of view has been taken from commission. “The code of conduct would be in force till the time the counting of votes is completed on December 18. We have taken enough measures to ensure that the code of conduct is observed strictly and the elections are held in a free and fair manner,” he added