Nilgiris Collector holds meeting with political parties, govt. officials

Nilgiris District Collector Innocent Divya held meeting with member of political parties, government officials and police personnel on Monday on the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) which would be in place till the completion of the elections in Tamil Nadu on April 18.

Speaking to those that attended the meeting on the Additional Collectorate campus on Monday, Ms. Divya said that the Nilgiris had more than 1,37,000 voters who were eligible to vote in the ensuing elections to the Lok Sabha.

Ms. Divya also said that there were 6,427 voters with disabilities in the Nilgiris (reserved) Lok Sabha constituency, comprising six Assembly segments of Mettupalayam, Bhavani Sagar, Avinashi, Coonoor, Udhagamandalam and Gudalur.

The Collector said that anyone wanting to report MCC violations could contact the hotline – 1950, to register their complaints. Complaints can also be registered at 1800-425-0034, she added. Flying squads and Static Surveillance Teams have been formed to keep tab on the movement of unaccounted cash, as well as to prevent bribing of voters.

“Any party worker, candidate or agent found travelling with more than ₹ 50,000 in cash will be subject to having the cash they are found with being seized,” said the Collector, adding that people found with cash more than the stipulated amount would need to produce documentation proving that it was to be used for legal transactions or for business.

Social media and mobile messaging applications like WhatsApp are also to be monitored, to ensure that political parties do not send political messages between 10 p.m and 6 a.m, while door-to-door canvassing for votes as well as usage of loudspeakers have also been banned during the stipulated hours.

Nilgiris District Superintendent of Police D. Shanmuga Priya said that around 2,000 police personnel would be deployed during the elections. The police have also requested five companies of Central Armed Police Force to be deployed during the polls.

There were a total of 1,611 polling booths across the six Assembly segments, with 124 polling booths deemed to be vulnerable plus one deemed to be “critical.”