Shimla, Oct 13(PTI) With election schedule announced forHimachal Pradesh, state's Chief Electoral Officer today askedthe government to remove hoardings and also record the timingof their removal.
CEO Pushpender Rajput also directed the Returningofficers and Deputy Commissioners to strictly implement theModel Code of Conduct.
He said that about 50,000 employees, including 38,000 onpoll duty, would be deployed to manage 7,521 polling booths.
As many as 75 companies of paramilitary forces would bedeployed for ensuring free and fair polls and webcasting of2,000 booths would done, he said.
Fifty-one booths have been declared hypersensitive andCCTV cameras would be installed at these booths. Forty-threeauxiliary booths have also been set up, he said.
Rajput said that there were 49,05,677 voters in the stateas on September 15, (including 24,98,174 male and 24,07,503female). The percentage of first-time voters in the age groupof 18-19 years was 1,49.
The revision was done again from September 16 toSeptember 30 to register the left out voters and final listwould be published by October 15.
The commission has received 78,960 fresh applicationswhich would be disposed over the next two days.
A budget of Rs 50 crore has been released for conductingthe polls and committees have been set up to look into thecomplaints and poll expenditure incurred by the candidate.
Wheelchairs would be made available at every pollingbooth to facilitate persons with disabilities and aged voters.
The Ka polling booth in tribal Kinnaur constituency hasthe minimum six voters while booth No. 72 in Solan has thehighest number of 166 voters. The highest polling booth ofHikkim located at an altitude of 1,000 feet has 46 voters.
CCTV cameras have been installed at 93 entry points tokeep vigil on activities of anti-social elements and meetingshave been held with police and excise and taxation departmentofficials of neighbouring states to ensure that no unlawfulactivity takes place.
Rajput said that there were 45,33,713 voters in 2012assembly polls and 47,44,215 voters in 2014 Lok Sabha pollsand polling percentage was 73.51 and 64.45 respectively.
The filing of nominations would be done from October 16to 23, scrutiny would take place on October 24, the last datefor withdrawal of nomination is October 26 and polling wouldbe held on November 9.
The counting of votes would take place on December 18and model code of conduct world remain in force till thecompletion of election process on December 20. PTI PCLTIR.
This is unedited, unformatted feed from the Press Trust of India wire.