Tuesday, Feb 13, 2024 10:30 [IST]
Last Update: Tuesday, Feb 13, 2024 04:50 [IST]
GANGTOK,: A delegation of Election Commission of
India led by senior deputy election commissioner Dharmendra Sharma and
consisting of senior deputy election commissioner Nitesh Vyas, director (IT)
Ashok Kumar, director (Exp)Pankaj Srivastava, principal secretary Arvind Anand
and secretary Santosh Kumar Dubey visited Sikkim on February 11-12 to review State
election machinery’s preparedness for the conduct of General Elections 2024 to
Lok Sabha and Sikkim Legislative Assembly.
On February 11, the ECI team had a
meeting with the State nodal officers of various enforcement agencies who are
responsible for election expenditure monitoring. The nodal officers from State
Police department, Excise department, GST & Commercial Tax department,
Transport department, Forest department, Income Tax department, Reserve Bank of
India, Enforcement Directorate, Department of Post, Bureau of Civil Aviation,
CISF, RPF, Narcotics Control Bureau, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, CBIC,
ITBP, State Level Bankers Committee and Airport Authority of India participated
in the meeting, informs a press release.
Their action plan for the ensuing
General Elections 2024 were discussed during the meeting. The senior deputy
election commissioners directed the nodal officers to strengthen their
monitoring mechanism to curb the movement of cash, liquor, drugs, freebies and
other materials which can be used as inducement to the voters during the
Elections. They also asked these agencies to share intelligence among
themselves for an effective network of information exchange which would help in
better coordination of their enforcement activities. They directed that the
vigil at the Inter-State check posts should be enhanced with additional
manpower as per requirement and that they should work towards breaking of nexus
and networks that operate behind these inducements.
This was followed by a meeting with the
chief secretary, DGP, special DGP, chief electoral officer, State Police nodal
officer, Home secretary, Excise commissioner and DIG. In this meeting, the
overall preparedness of the State for the conduct of General Elections 2024 was
discussed in detail. The issues discussed during this meeting were related to
availability of sufficient manpower for the conduct of elections, availability
of assured minimum facilities in the polling stations, maintenance of law and
order, scale of deployment of police personnel, enforcement of MCC, election
expenditure monitoring, budget provisions, etc. The chief secretary and the DGP
apprised the delegation on the actions taken so far by the State government on
these issues and assured them that a peaceful and smooth elections will be
conducted in Sikkim, the release mentions.
On February 12, the ECI delegation had a
meeting with all the district collectors and superintendents of police to
review the preparedness and plan of action of the district administration. Each
of the DCs and SPs made a detailed presentation on the matters relating to
electoral roll, printing of EPIC, identification of critical/vulnerable polling
stations, availability and training of manpower, assured minimum facilities in
polling stations, arrangements for establishment of strong rooms, training and despatch
centres, counting centres, election expenditure monitoring, etc. The senior
DECs directed the DCs and SPs to now focus majorly on election works and ensure
that timely action is taken to dispose of the forms received during the
continuous updation of electoral rolls. They were asked to ensure strict
compliance to the instructions of the ECI and meticulously follow the
prescribed processes/procedures. They were also asked to enhance their
performance at par with the performance in this front in the recently poll gone
States.
The senior DECs reiterated the
importance of inclusiveness and transparency in the electoral rolls and advised
the DCs to focus on women voters, young voters, Persons with Disabilities and
other vulnerable sections of the society during the elections. They also
emphasised that remoteness of the polling stations should not be an impediment
for voting and the district administration should provide the required
facilities to make the voting a pleasant experience. Various IT based
applications that would be used during the General Elections 2024 were also
explained in detail by the director (IT).
Lastly, the ECI delegation held a
meeting with the chief electoral officer and State police nodal officer which
saw the participation of the DCs and SPs as well. The CEO and SPNO made a
presentation on the overall scenario on the preparedness for the General
Elections and maintenance of law and order during the elections. The senior
DECs suggested that training and capacity building of the election machinery is
crucial for error-free elections.
In the end, the senior deputy election
commissioners advised all the members of the election machinery of the State to
gear up fully for ensuring free and fair elections without deviating from the
election laws and instructions of the commission. They expected a seamless
coordination among all the agencies involved in bringing out a smooth and
peaceful General Elections 2024 in the State, the release adds.