With municipal and general elections around the corner, the district officials are racing against time to make necessary arrangements under close watch by Election Commission. It is a tough time for them as the municipal election schedule has already been announced while the EC is pulling out all stops to hold general elections towards the end of April.
Collector M. Raghunandana Rao and Joint Collector J. Murali have already issued instructions to all departments concerned to be prepared for elections.
Their immediate task is to ensure smooth conduct of the municipal elections, particularly for the sensitive Vijayawada Municipal Corporation.
Getting electronic voting machines ready for both the elections (civic and general) and mobilising human resources are the top priority issues to which attention has already been paid.
Then comes maintenance of law and order which is a challenge for the police and Central security forces in view of the volatile situation that required President’s rule to be imposed on Andhra Pradesh after just over four decades.
StrategiesTop police officials are making out strategies for holding elections in a peaceful manner, and the magnitude of the task is evident from the high-level meeting of all wings of the Police Department from five districts held at Jaggaiahpet on Sunday.
Emphasis was laid on curbing the flow of liquor and smuggling of money and weapons which can disturb peace in the run-up to the elections.
Meanwhile, the political atmosphere is getting hotter with each passing day and the top brass of Congress, BJP, TDP and YSR Congress, including Sonia Gandhi and Narendra Modi, will be addressing public meetings in the city over the next couple of weeks.
With the municipal election Code of Conduct already coming into force, and little time remaining for the one governing general election to take over soon, politicians are left to walk the tight-rope.
