The Election Commission is all set to conduct polling in eight Assembly segments in Dakshina Kannada on May 12 with a vigil on social media postings on Friday and Saturday to curb anti-propaganda, campaign by the candidates and parties and circulation of damaging, inflammatory, defamatory postings.
Addressing a joint press conference with the police here on Thursday, Sasikanth Senthil S., Election Officer and Deputy Commissioner, said that suo motu cases would be registered against such persons who posted and circulated “doctored contents” on the polling and its previous day.
The commission would take cognisance of postings and circulation of propaganda matter and anti-propaganda matter. They would be booked under Sections 153 and 153 A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
He said that no mercy would be shown to anybody posting and circulating such contents.
“We would take severe and extreme measures,” he said. “It may take some days to find out who posted and circulated such content. With advanced technology it is not difficult to trace such persons. We will do it,” Mr. Senthil said.
Vipul Kumar, Mangaluru Police Commissioner, asked people to exercise restraint and use wisdom judiciously before posting and forwarding any such matters on the social media.
Voting = democracy
Asking the people not to remain away from voting, the Deputy Commissioner said that it is an “expression of democracy”.
He said that political parties could change their polling agents inside the polling stations only till 3 p.m. on Saturday.
The agents would have to be present in the stations by 5.45 a.m. on the polling day as mock polling would be conducted in their presence. The booth-level officers would wait only for 15 minutes and if they did not turn up they would go ahead with the mock polling.
If the political parties wanted to put up their help-desk 200m outside the polling station they would have to take permission from the local body concerned.
Of 1,858 booths in the district 517 booths have been considered as critical booths. So far 5,000 persons have exercised postal ballots.
The counting of votes of all constituencies on May 15 would be conducted at Mahatma Gandhi Centenary Higher Primary School and Mahatma Gandhi Centenary Composite Pre University College, Bondel in the city.
