E-Paper
Bihar panchayat polls: SEC focuses on sensitive polling booths
Sources said the (SEC) has started the exercise of drawing up elaborate security arrangements in coordination with home department as well as police headquarters for the ten-phase elections
Bihar panchayat election schedule is out and the State Election Commission (SEC) is focusing on polling booths with high vulnerability, and having a history of poll malpractices.
Sources said the (SEC) has started the exercise of drawing up elaborate security arrangements in coordination with home department as well as police headquarters for the ten-phase elections.
Sixteen constables and two officers will be deployed at every alternative booths based on the threat perception in extremist-hit areas. Sector magistrates would be also posted in Maoist-infested areas. As per police headquarters records, there are 10 extremist hit districts: Gaya, Aurangabad, Lakhisarai, Jamui, Munger, Banka, West Champaran, Patna, Jehanabad, and Rohtas.
At other booths, there would be four constables and a havildar rank officer, sources said. “The security arrangements are being worked out. The deployment of force and other arrangements would be done by the police headquarters during the polls,” said an SEC official.
Also Read | Widespread rain to continue over parts of east, northeast India till August 15
Six polling personnel will be deployed at each booth. In each phase, the number of booths where polling would be conducted would, on an average, be 12,000 covering 2-3 blocks in each district. That would mean around 72,000 polling personnel on election duty.
“In view of the huge number of polling personnel, the mobilisation process has begun and officials are being drafted for the task of conducting polls likely to start from next month,” another source said.
There are reports the SEC has sent a proposal to the panchayat raj department for notification of three-tier rural bodies election. The schedule of the polls would be known after the proposal for conduct of the polls is approved by the state cabinet.
Meanwhile, home department,additional chief secretary Chaitanya Prasad said the police headquarters was working on the security arrangements. “Once the dates of the election is announced, there will be fine tuning of all aspects related to security and deployment of force. The process has begun,” he said.
