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Arrest all proclaimed offenders ahead of polls: EC directs HP government
The decision on the three snow-prone tribal constituencies Bharmaur, Kinnaur and Lahaul and Spiti, will be taken after the team reaches back Delhi
The Election Commission has directed the government to apprehend 22,00 proclaimed offenders in Himachal, ahead of the elections.
“We have directed the state government to apprehend all the absconding proclaimed offenders in the state ahead of the elections. I had separate meetings with the police head,” said the Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar, currently on a three-day tour to the state capital to assess the preparedness for Vidhan Sabha elections. He is accompanied by a seven-member team.
“ The Election Commission is committed to holding free, fair accessible and inducement-free elections in Himachal,” he said.
The decision on the three tribal constituencies Bharmaur, Kinnaur and Lahaul and Spiti, will be taken after the team reaches back Delhi, he said, when asked if the elections could be advanced in the three tribal constituencies in wake of the early snowfall forecast.
“In a way, you are asking about the schedule of the elections that will be a decision which will have to be taken at right time but as far as you are talking about the snow-prone areas, the representatives of political parties during our meetings here have also raised this issue. We have taken up these issues, and we shall take all these into consideration,” the CEC said.
The election commission has decided to facilitate senior citizen voters at polling booths this time while it will make concerted efforts to mobilize first-time voters, the CEC added.
There are around 1,27, 668 voters who are above the age of 80 and 12,94 are centurion. Shyam Saran Negi, 106, exercised his franchise in 1951, becoming Independent India’s first voter and is the most recognised face among senior citizens. “All the senior citizens who will cast their votes will be facilitated. Senior citizens have played a vital role in the country in inspiring the young. The senior citizens would be given citations from the commission, the CEC said adding that senior citizens will be given the facility to vote from their homes after filling the form 12 if they are unable to come to the polling stations. There are a total of 7,881 polling stations in Himachal, of them, 646 are in urban and 7,235 are in rural areas. “142 polling stations will be entirely managed by women,” he said, adding that 38 will be managed by persons with disabilities. So far to date, 53,88,409 voters have been registered, which include 27, 23, 840 men and 26,64,549 females.
The CEC launched a Chatbot-Voter Saathi and an Online Election Quiz for voter awareness developed by the Chief Electoral Office, Himachal Pradesh. The quiz started today and will go on till October 10. The first three winners will be given cash prizes. Utsav Logo was also launched on the occasion.
