labourers will be a part of the polling parties here in Palamu this panchayat election. They will be with the polling parties to carry the cumbersome ballot boxes.
The ballot boxes are of three size large medium and small having different stuffing capacity of polled ballots in them.
The inclusion of labourers on daily wages in the polling parties has been done to spare the presiding officer and polling officials of polling parties the pain of carrying the ballot boxes, said sources.
Since the EVMs are not to be used in this panchayat poll, the polling parties are hard pressed to carry these three different size boxes.
The EVMs come in briefcase shape and are very handy but there is no such convenience with the ballot boxes.
Deputy Commissioner Palamu K Srinivasan said on Monday very positively and strongly that using labourers in polling parties for the convenience of 4 member polling party here. There are 3,577 polling parties and equal number of labourers is required said sources.
Srinivasan told media persons in a press conference, "This thinking to have one labourer each in one polling party here in Palamu is the initiative of the district administration with the sole aim to provide relief and comfort to polling party personnel in carrying the ballot boxes as at each booth where there will be a minimum of two ballot boxes."
However Srinivasan hastened to add, "The inclusion of the labourers in the polling party has to be cleared by the State election commission Ranchi." He said the SEC would be moved with this proposal.
Srinivasan was asked if any untoward incident like casualty of the labourer on election duty/work will this non-Governmental person would get the same ex-gratia relief and compensation that is permissible to Governmental person on election duty who gets either killed or maimed or disabled for life in acts of violence perpetrated by the CPI Maoists. On this he commented, "This is the core issue and it will be thrashed out properly."
Again asked that in lok Sabha election/Vidhan Sabha election a civilian driver who drives either the polling party or the security forces for election work in event of getting killed or maimed is covered under ex-gratia relief as prescribed by the Election Commission Of India Delhi Srinivasan responded, "This fact will be brought to the notice of the state election commission Ranchi in right earnest.
In one mid-term poll of lok Sabha election here in Palamu a civilian driver was killed in a landmine and the Election Commission Of India provided a hefty ex gratia relief to the bereaved family of the killed civilian driver.