Chief Electoral Officer (CEO)Mukesh Kumar Meenasays that the Election Commission of India (ECI) is striving towards increasing the voter turnout in the State to around 82% against the 79% in the 2019 elections. He said the polling will be conducted between 7 am to 6 pm in 169 Assembly constituencies. In three of the remaining six segments, the voting process will begin at 7 am and end at 4 pm and the other three will begin at 7 am and end at 5 pm.
What arrangements have been made for the polling on May 13?
As of now, all the logistical activities such as printing of ballot papers, commissioning of EVMs have been completed. Voters list is ready and also shared with the candidates. Similarly, training for the polling staff, casting of postal ballots, and home voting was also completed. Separate dispatching centres have been set up for each Assembly constituency at the district headquarters, where the polling staff and security personnel will arrive on May 12 and dispatched to their stations by the evening on the same day, along with election material. In case of big districts like Alluri Sitharama Raju, dispatching centres have been set up at Paderu and Rampachodavaram to avoid long journeys for polling personnel.
How are the polling stations equipped to conduct the elections smoothly?
The number of polling stations was increased to 46,389 from 46,165. We have created 224 auxiliary polling stations at the main polling stations, where the upper limit of electors has exceeded 1,500. Apart from all basic infrastructure facilities such as drinking water and ramps, we are also setting up shades at the polling stations in view of prevailing summer conditions in the State. An ANM (Auxiliary Nurse and Midwife), along with medicines, will also be kept available at polling stations across the State.
During the elections in 2019, voters were seen standing in queue lines till the night. Are you anticipating a similar situation in this election as well?
As the weather is much harsher now, voters may turn less at polling stations between 12 pm and 4 pm. They may opt to arrive in the evening to escape the scorching heat to vote. We have already given instructions to the district election officers to make arrangements accordingly. There are around 3,000 to 4,000 polling stations where there are over 1,200 voters. In all such stations, we will utilise the reserve staff to expedite the polling process. As we cannot rule out the possibility of untoward incidents at the end of the polling, web cameras have been installed to keep a close watch and take necessary measures at the respective polling booths.
Several officers including the Director General of Police (DGP) have been transferred and were out of election duties. What about the politicians crossing the norms prescribed by the ECI?
More than 400 politicians including Ministers, MLAs, MLCs and other public representatives were booked for violation of MCC. With regard to the Chief Minister YS Jagan and the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief Nara Chandrababu Naidu, we have issued notices for the objectionable speeches during the electioneering. As the ECI specifically asked about the two leaders, we have sent the explanations given by them along with our observations.
Holding the position of Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) is a challenging job as you will become a soft target to the political parties even if you go by the rule book. How are you facing it?
In fact, every IAS officer is trained on conducting elections right from the beginning of their career. I have been involved in conducting elections in my capacity as Sub-Collector, Joint Collector and Collector. Additionally, I have also discharged duties as observer in four States, including Gujarat, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Tripura. With all the experience I have gained, I am balancing the things in my capacity as the Chief Election Officer. But one thing is clear, that violations will not be entertained, the action will be to the logical end against the violators.
What is the number of new voters?
About 10.30 lakh voters are aged between 18 and 19.
What are the measures being taken for enhancement of poll percentage?
The turnout of voters was around 79% in the 2019 polls. We are making efforts to increase it to 82 to 83% in this election. We are focusing on the segments, where the poll percentage was less to the national average of 68% and identified 20 such constituencies including 19 Assembly constituencies from urban areas and one rural segment - Paderu. We are involving resident welfare associations and conducting voter awareness activities in colleges and universities. Additionally, through SVEEP, the initiative of the ECI, widespread programmes are being carried out to enhance the voter turnout.