Wayanad District Collector Adeela Abdulla has asked political parties and poll aspirants to strictly follow the model code of conduct (MCC) for the upcoming polls.
Addressing a meeting of the representatives of various political parties and officials concerned here on Monday, Ms. Abdulla said that public could inform the authorities on issues regarding the model code of conduct through cVIGIL, an innovative mobile application for citizens to report model code and expenditure violations during the elections.
“The official concerned will address the issue in 100 minutes,” Ms. Abdulla said, adding that the public could also use the helpline number 1950 for the purpose.
The political parties, candidates and their supporters should ensure peaceful conduct of the election, she said. According to the latest census, 21,817 people in the district belong to the age group of 18 to 19 years but, only 6,879 persons among them were enrolled in the electoral roll so far, Ms. Abdulla said, adding that the political parties should initiate to sensitise the public on the significance of elections in a democratic setup.
As many as 948 polling booths would be set up in the district including 576 major booths and 372 auxiliary booths, she said.
District police chief Aravind Sukumar said that 175 booths in the district were identified as vulnerable and sensitive booths of which 124 booths were identified as Maoist-affected booths and three-level security measures would be set up in those booths, Mr. Sukumar said. Two companies of Central forces would arrive in two weeks in the district and more forces would be deployed on the polling day, he said.
Police checking would be intensified in the three inter-district and eight inter-State border roads, he said. While organising poll propaganda, political parties should adhere to the COVID-19 restrictions, he said.
