More poll dates give us flexibility for troop movement, says election panel chief

Chief election commissioner VS Sampath spoke to HT’s Chetan Chauhan about preparedness for Lok Sabha elections and gave reasons why the poll panel opted for nine poll dates as against five phases in the 2009 polls. Here are the excerpts from the interview: Poll:Which are the three issues that, according to you, will top the voters’ mind in these polls?

Updated on: Mar 5, 2014, 22:25:18 IST

Hindustan Times | By Chetan Chauhan, New Delhi

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Chief election commissioner VS Sampath spoke to HT’s Chetan Chauhan about preparedness for Lok Sabha elections and gave reasons why the poll panel opted for nine poll dates as against five phases in the 2009 polls. Here are the excerpts from the interview:

Q. Why did the election commission choose to carry out the Lok Sabha elections in nine poll dates?

A. It would be wrong to say that the 2014 general elections would be the longest. We will complete the entire election process in 72 days as compared to 75 in 2009. One cannot compare 2009 elections with 2014 as the concepts adopted are different. We have introduced “poll dates” as against phases in 2009. Apples cannot be compared with oranges. Between April 7 and April 12, we have four polling dates and after that, the polling schedule is similar to 2009… There were several factors such as local festivals and weather conditions we considered before deciding the poll dates.

We had to make optimal utilisation of manpower to ensure smooth elections. We took into account the movement of security personnel and therefore are holding entire north-eastern states’ polling on two days. Having more poll days gave us flexibility in troop movement and to ensure adequate forces in the Naxal-affected areas.

Read:Indians urged to vote in 'informed, ethical manner'

Q. How would the 2014 general elections be different from the past elections?

A. We have allowed enrollment of voters after the poll dates have been announced. Booth level officers on March 9, Sunday, would be available with election officers to enroll people who have been left out. In 2014, we will also disburse photo based voter identity slips at the doorsteps. We will also have facilities at each polling station for voters’ guidance. We are making arrangements for e-filing of the affidavits by the candidates. A stringent expenditure monitoring mechanism would be put into place.

Read: Money power causing concern: Sampath

Q. Use of black money in elections has been a big issue. What steps is the election commission taking to curb the use of black money?

A. We have expenditure observers for each Lok Sabha constituency. If need arises, we will increase the number of expenditure observers. Instructions have also been issued to set up flying squads and have media monitoring committees to deal with paid news. The candidates will have to open a separate bank account in advance for election expenses.

Full schedule of LS elections

Read:BJP welcomes poll schedule announcement

Read: An election of contrasts to celebrate the Indian Republic

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Chetan Chauhan
Chetan Chauhan is the National Affairs Editor looking into all aspects of news and features from across India. A Chevening scholar with over three decades of experience in reporting and news management, Chetan has extensively covered all important aspects of the social sector, political economy, environment and climate change nationally and internationally. He did a journalism course at the Reuters Institute of Journalism in Oxford and Digital Media training at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. He started as a reporter with The Statesman in 1996 and joined the Hindustan Times in 2000 in the metro bureau covering environment, crime and Delhi politics. He covered hot local news, from the Jessica Lal murder case to the rebellion of Delhi Congress MLAs against then Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, to the replacement of toxic vehicle fuel with cleaner compressed natural gas (CNG) in the national capital. Some of his stories on air pollution became part of the Supreme Court’s landmark MC Mehta versus Government of India case in the National Capital Region (NCR), forcing the government to take corrective measures. As part of the national political bureau since 2004, he covered important central sectors such as environment, education, social justice, labour, rural development, water resources, renewable energy, agriculture, broadcasting and the Planning Commission for more than a decade producing several exclusive and investigative breaking stories. His specialisation is the environment, having covered at least a dozen United Nations global conferences on climate change, biodiversity and wildlife including climate summits in Paris, Copenhagen and Bali. He also covered India’s two five-year plans ---11th and 12th and reported on drafting and execution of right based laws such as Right to Education, Right to Information and rural job guarantee law, MG-NREGA, now being introduced in new format as VG-RAM-G Act. He has in-depth knowledge of social sector issues. He was one of the first to report on tigers vanishing from Sariska and Panna wildlife reserves in 2004 and 2008, respectively, leading to the setting up of the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) and the introduction of stringent penal provisions for poaching. He has written extensively on the rising human-animal conflict in India and the degradation of India’s biodiversity hotspots because of mining and other activities. Since 2004, Chetan has covered Parliament comprehensively and participated in training on the nuanced coverage of Parliament proceedings. He has travelled extensively across India to cover national and provincial elections since 1998, especially in the Hindi heartland states, considered India’s road to power. He writes a regular column for Hindustan Times, Ecostani, on important national politics, economy, Himalayan ecology and environmental issues. His other responsibilities include providing inputs for edits and edit page articles for the publication, apart from managing news flow from across India.Read More

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