STRICT MEASURES: Chief Electoral Officer Naresh Gupta with District Election Officers and Electoral Registration Officers of seven northern districts at the Secretariat on Monday. — Photo: V. Ganesan

CHENNAI: The Election Commission (EC) is determined to ensure a free and fair poll at Madurai (West), where a by-election is slated for June 26, according to Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Naresh Gupta.

Shortly after a meeting with District Election Officers (DEOs) and Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) of seven districts here on Monday, he told reporters that the Commission would resort to steps such as shifting of revenue and police officials who came under adverse notice.

Replying to a question on security arrangements, Mr. Gupta said the EC had looked into this aspect.

The number of polling stations would be announced in a day or two. The Commission would also indicate the strength of Central paramilitary forces in the constituency.

Allocation of polling personnel would be done through a randomisation software, he said, adding that those employees, whose native place or residence fell within the Madurai (West) segment, would not be put on election duty.

Central Government servants would be appointed as presiding officers or polling officer-I to the extent of availability of the personnel.

Videographing also would be done as part of measures to prevent poll violations, Mr. Gupta pointed out.

On the summary revision of photo electoral rolls, he said regional meetings were being held to assess the progress of the work.

DEOs and EROs belonging to Chennai, Kancheepuram, Tiruvallur, Cuddalore, Villupuram, Vellore and Tiruvannamalai attended the meeting. Seven other districts — Coimbatore, the Nilgris, Erode, Salem, Namakkal, Dharmapuri and Krishnagiri — will be covered in the meeting to be held at Coimbatore on June 11. DEOs and EROs of Tiruchi, Perambalur, Karur, Pudukottai, Thanjavur, Tiruvarur and Nagapattinam will attend a regional meeting in Tiruchi on June 13. Southern districts, including Madurai, Theni, Dindigul, Sivaganga, Ramanathapuram, Tirunelveli, Tuticorin and Kanyakumari, will be covered at the regional meeting slated for June 14.

The process of online registration in cities such as Chennai will come into effect from June 11, he said.

To a query, Mr. Gupta said the post of Joint CEO for which an IAS officer was earmarked was lying vacant since mid-January.

Rajya Sabha polls

Official sources told The Hindu here that the Election Commission's decision to appoint the CEO as the Returning Officer for the biennial election to the Rajya Sabha slated for June 15 had not been taken in response to the plea made by some political parties such as the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam.

"It is common for the Election Commission to appoint a Returning Officer other than the Secretary of the Legislative Assembly for the Rajya Sabha poll. This has been done on several occasions in other States also," they said. In the previous Rajya Sabha election from the State also, the CEO was appointed as the Returning Officer, the sources recalled.

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