Lucknow, Mar 2 (UNI) The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Saturday said that Lok Sabha elections will be held in a completely fair and transparent manner for which modern technology will be used to the maximum extent and accountability of the District Magistrate and police chief will be fixed if any irregularity or biased incident was detected in any constituency.
On the last day of the three-day visit of the team of the Election Commission of India (ECI) to check poll preparedness in Uttar Pradesh, while talking to reporters, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar said, "The ECI is satisfied with the preparations being made for the Lok Sabha polls in UP. Polls will be held in a completely fair and transparent manner and for this modern technology will be used to the maximum extent. If any irregularity or biased incident is found in any constituency then the DM and Superintendent of Police will be responsible for it."
He said that during its visit the ECI team held a meeting with national and state recognised political parties on the first day of the tour. He said that this time on the demand of political parties, counting of postal ballots will be done first.
The CEC said that after voting, all the electronic voting machines (EVMs) will be sent from the polling station to the strong room in a government vehicle. "Elderly people above 85 years of age and disabled people will get the facility to vote from home," he said.
He said that earlier during the elections, the candidates used to receive four cheque books of 50-50 checks from the bank one by one. Due to this, they had to face a lot of difficulties because during elections, candidates had to pay even small expenses through cheques. This time candidates will be able to get a check book of Rs 200 from the bank. Banks have been instructed in this regard, he said.
Kumar said that in order to provide easy voting facilities to the voters living in high-rise buildings, polling places will be built near them.
"Candidates with criminal background will have to publish their criminal background in newspapers thrice. Apart from this, political parties will also have to publish in newspapers why they have elected a candidate with criminal background," he said.
He said that the commission is making efforts to increase the voting percentage by identifying the constituencies where voting has been low in the previous elections. "Despite having the largest population, the voting percentage is low in comparison. This time special emphasis will be laid on increasing awareness," he said.
The CEC said that in the electoral roll published this time there are 15.29 crore electorates in UP, out of which 7.15 crore are female.
"The number of voters above 100 years of age is 31,000. This time the number of third gender, disabled people and new voters has also increased," he said.
He said that the enforcement agencies have been directed to take strict action against use of money power during Lok Sabha polls and to dry up inflow of liquor, cash, freebies and drugs.
"During the visit we held meetings with the representatives of different political parties and heard their suggestions. Besides, we also held meetings with the officers of enforcement agencies and district level officials," he said.
Kumar said that during meetings with the enforcement agencies directives were issued to take strict action against use of money power during elections. "They were directed to dry up inflow and distribution of liquor, cash, freebies and drugs. They were informed about the standard operation procedure (SOP) on checking the movement of illicit liquor and cash on interstate borders and to take action against liquor kingpins," he said.
He said that the district level officers were directed to ensure level playing field for all political parties. "Strict action should be taken against officers involved in partiality. It has been directed to ensure impartiality with junior officials working at cutting-edge level for level playing field. All the district election officers (DEOs) have been asked to take immediate action on any complaint related to electoral rolls. At present no complaint is pending as all have been resolved satisfactorily," he said.
The CEC said that it has been directed to take immediate action against any person involved in fraudulent activities related to election processes of crime. "The banks have been asked to maintain a strict vigil on the online cash transfer through online wallets. The banks have also been asked to transfer cash meant for refilling ATMs during the day and not during the evening," he said.
He said that it has been directed that electronic voting machines (EVMs) should be moved in government vehicles and each vehicle should be fitted with a GPS device.
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