The Election Commission has deployed 20 companies of Central para-military forces to prevent any untoward incident during the byelection to Huzurabad Assembly constituency slated for Saturday.
The Commission deployed 32 micro observers as well as six engineers to attend to the technical glitches if any encountered by the electronic voting machines. Polling would be held from 7 am to 7 pm and voters should follow COVID-19 protocols while coming to cast vote, Chief Electoral Officer Shashank Goel said.
The CEO said all arrangements had been made for peaceful conduct of the bypoll. The constituency reported 84.5 per cent voting in the previous elections in 2018 and the Commission was hopeful that the voting percentage would increase this time.
The bypoll had become a prestigious issue for the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi as well as the BJP on whose behalf former Minister Eatala Rajender who quit the TRS is in the fray.
Mr. Shashank Goel said wheelchairs had been kept in all the polling booths to enable the specially abled to cast vote without inconvenience.
Complaints were received from political parties that put up their nominees in the election and action was initiated regarding a majority of them. Special teams and squads deployed by the Commission had seized ₹3.5 crore.
SUGGESTED AS INSET
‘Criminal cases against voters
demanding money’
The Chief Electoral Officer said criminal cases would be registered against voters who demand money from contesting parties and the candidates.
The Commission was in receipt of reports of voters staging dharna and demonstrations in some places in protest against not receiving money from political parties. Inquiry had been ordered into the incident and efforts were under way to identify the voters who staged such protest. “Criminal cases will be registered against those found guilty once the inquiry report is submitted,” he said.
