The Hindu : 25 `sensitive' constituencies identified

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Apr 01, 2004

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

25 `sensitive' constituencies identified

By Our Tamil Nadu Bureau

B.B. Tandon, Election Commissioner (second from left), launching an electoral roll web site at Kancheepuram on Wednesday. Looking on (from left) are the Tamil Nadu Chief Electoral Officer, Mrutyunjay Sarangi, and R. Venkatesan, Kancheepurm Collector. - Photo: A. Muralitharan

CHENNAI, MARCH 31. The Director-General of Police, I.K. Govind, today said 25 Lok Sabha constituencies in Tamil Nadu were identified as "sensitive."

Without naming them, he said security arrangements would be made there during campaigning and on the day of the election, May 10.

Mr. Govind was talking to reporters at the Modern Police Control Room in the city Police Commissioner's office, where he participated in a meeting attended by senior officers from the department, the Intelligence Bureau and the Special Protection Group.

The meeting, he said, was held to review arrangements and steps to be taken to ensure smooth elections and also to provide security to VIPs during electioneering. The department was yet to receive information when the VIPs - coming under the `Z,' `Z plus,' `X' and `Y' categories of security - would visit the State.

Mr. Govind said 65 companies of the Central police - Border Security Force, Central Reserve Police Force and Central Industrial Security Force - with a combined strength of about 6,000 personnel would be deployed during the elections. Asked whether the police perceived any threat during the polls, he replied in the negative.

Additional police force

At Kancheepuram, B.B.Tandon, Election Commissioner, said sensitive and highly sensitive areas were identified in Tamil Nadu and additional mobile police patrol units and force would be deployed there.

He was talking to mediapersons after reviewing poll preparedness in Kancheepuram district with election and police officials.Answering a question, he said, "I am satisfied with the poll arrangements in Tamil Nadu and the arrangements are smooth'. The Election Commission (EC) had appointed a special poll observer in Tamil Nadu, besides three central poll observers appointed for each parliamentary constituency.

Asked about the EC's action on complaints of personal attack on the Congress president, Sonia Gandhi, in Tamil Nadu, Mr. Tandon said it convened a meeting of all parties in New Delhi for April 6 to take a decision on this and some other important issues.

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