Bhubaneswar: Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar Saturday called upon all collectors and superintendents of police of Odisha to maintain “absolute impartiality”, transparency, remain equally accessible to all political parties and ensure a level playing field for all during the upcoming Lok Sabha and assembly elections in the state.
An ECI team led by Kumar concluded its three-day tour of Odisha Saturday.
During their stay, they held meetings with collectors, SPs, and officials of political parties, enforcement agencies and the state government.
Speaking to reporters, Kumar said that instructions have been issued to the collectors and SPs to ensure violence-free polls, and keep strict vigil for vehicles carrying cash.
“There will be three-tier security arrangements at district EVM-VVPAT warehouses at all times. All the EVMs will be sealed properly and the details of votes cast at polling stations will be informed to the polling agents to maintain transparency,” he said.
Further, candidates using their own publications and TV channels for campaigning will be monitored and expenditure borne will be added to election expenses, he said.
The officials were asked to ensure that government machinery or office buildings should not be used for promotion of party events and advertisements, Kumar said.
The enforcement agencies were asked to take strict action against the use of money power, liquor, drugs, and freebies during elections, he said.
The agencies will keep a strict vigil on illicit online cash transfers through wallets while the State Level Bankers Committee (SLBC) will transfer cash during designated hours in designated vehicles only, Kumar said.
The airstrips and helipads in the state will be monitored by the agencies concerned that will check cargo movement through non-scheduled chartered flights and share the information with other enforcement agencies, he stated.
Kumar said all the enforcement agencies will work in a cohesive and coordinated manner and a dedicated portal has been developed for this purpose.
The tenure of Lok Sabha will end on June 16 while the tenure of state assembly will end on June 24. So, the elections to both Lok Sabha and Odisha Vidhan Sabha will be completed before that, he said.
Giving a detailed presentation on the electoral roll of Odisha, he said a total of 3.32 crore voters including 1.68 crore men, 1.64 crore women and 3,380 transgender voters are eligible to exercise their franchise in Odisha.
A total of 37,809 polling booths will be set up in the state for the elections, of which 4,340 booths will come up in urban areas and 33,469 in rural areas. Webcasting will be done at 22,685 polling booths, Kumar said, adding 156 check-posts will be set up in 15 Odisha districts sharing borders with four other states.
“The state’s voter turnout in 2019 was 73.29 per cent. The ECI is hopeful that the turnout will be more in the upcoming polls,” he said.
PTI