Deputy Election Commissioner of Election Commission of India Alok Shukla on Saturday pinned hopes on the administration for successful lok Sabha elections in Jharkhand. In a closed door meeting with all Deputy Commissioners (DCs) and Superintendents of Police (SPs) in the State capital, Shukla apprised them of their roles and responsibilities during the upcoming elections.
According to sources, the DEC discussed poll preparations with the DCs and SPs on as many as 22 points mostly concerning security and election preparations. “Our main concern is to conduct free and fair polls. I am satisfied with the preparations,” said Shukla after a marathon meeting with DCs-cum-District Electoral Officers (DEOs). The DEC however restrained from parting any information about categorisation of booths and number of security forces to be deployed in sensitive areas. Shukla however assured use of choppers for surveillance during election tenure.
One of the main focuses of the meeting was to bring eligible voters left out of the loop among the voting populace. The office of the Chief Electoral Officer at the direction of ECI is going to organise one-day special camp across all booths in the State to facilitate registration of voters. The DEC has directed officials to ensure that the Form-6 submitted for entry in voters list is processed in 10 days from the date of submission.
Significantly, the DEC emphasised on dissemination of information related to electoral roll, voters list and other facts among the electorates with the objective to increase voter’s participation in the election for 16th lok Sabha. The DEOs have been asked to identify pockets where voter turnout was low in last elections and devote excessive resources to improve voter turnout in the lS elections.
Importantly, Shukla directed DEOs to take suo moto cognizance of violation of Model Code of Conduct besides keeping a close eye on paid news allegedly used by politicians to their advantage during elections. The DEOs have been directed to issue notices to a candidate and not the media in connection with paid news. The meeting was attended by Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Jharkhand PK Jajoria, Additional CEO KK Soan, IG Operations-cum-Nodal officer, Police Ml Meena, Commissioner of South Chottanagpur KK Khandelwal and Joint CEO A K Rao.