Vijayawada: All measures in place for polling

Vijayawada : Andhra Pradesh Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Mukesh Kumar Meena said all arrangements have been made for the peaceful conduct of polling for 25 Lok Sabha constituencies and 175 Assembly seats in the state on May 13. He said the polling staff will be sent to the polling centres on May 12 and the total number of voters are 4,14,01,887.

Addressing the media at the Secretariat on Saturday, Meena said 454 candidates are in fray for the 25 Lok Sabha constituencies and 2,387 candidates are in the fray for the 175 Assembly constituencies.

Polling will be held from 7 am to 6 pm on May 13 in 169 Assembly constituencies. Polling will take place from 7 am to 5 pm at Palakonda (ST) constituency, Kurupam constituency (ST) and Saluru constituency (ST) under the Lok Sabha constituency. Polling will be held from 7 am to 4 pm at Araku Valley (ST), Paderu (ST) and Rampachodavaram constituencies under the Araku Lok Sabha constituency.

He said basic facilities like shade, drinking water, seating will be arranged at the polling centres for the voters. ORS packets, medical staff will be made available to deal with the harsh weather and heat wave conditions. He suggested that the voters not bring mobile phones to the polling centres and made it clear that polling staff are not responsible for the safety of mobiles.

Meena said 1.6 lakh EVMs are ready and mock polling will start at 5 am on May 13. One observer is appointed for each district and all arrangements have been made for the peaceful polling. He said there are 46,389 polling stations in the state, out which 12,438 are critical polling stations. Webcasting facility is available in 34,651 polling stations which is 74 per cent of the proposals made for the webcasting.

The CEO said 4,44,218 government employees cast postal ballot voting in the state. He said 27,100 staff related to essential services also cast their votes. He said adequate election material is available in the state and if necessary, the state will get more police forces from other states and Central government to ensure free and fair polling.

Meena informed that 58,946 police personnel, including Central forces, will be on duty to ensure free and fair elections. Section 144 came into force from 6 pm on May 11 during the silence period and dry day is implemented from 6 pm on May 11 to 6 pm on May 13 during which liquor outlets will be closed.

Meena made it clear that no loud speaker will be allowed during the silence period for 48 hours from 6 pm on May 11 to 6 pm on May 13. All political functionaries and party workers who have been brought from outside the constituency for campaign purpose and who are not the voters of the constituency shall leave the constituency immediately after campaign period ended at 6 pm on May 11.

He said that during the silence period, the hotels, lodges, community halls will be kept on watch. Bulk SMSes of the political parties are also prohibited during the 48 hours silence period.