The Hindu : Front Page : Two-phase polls in Gujarat, Himachal

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Thursday, Oct 11, 2007
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Two-phase polls in Gujarat, Himachal

Special Correspondent

CEC’s assurance to minority community

New Delhi: The Election Commission on Wednesday announced two-phase Assembly polls in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh.

Gujarat will go to the polls on December 11 and 16 and Himachal Pradesh on November 14 and December 19.

The counting of votes in Gujarat would be taken up on December 23, while in Himachal Pradesh counting would be on December 28. Electronic voting machines would be used in all the polling booths.

Chief Election Commissioner N. Gopalaswami, flanked by Commissioners Navin Chawla and S.Y. Quareshi, announced the schedule at a press conference here.

He said the present term of the 182-member Gujarat Assembly would end on December 26 and that of the 68-member Himachal Pradesh House was due to expire on March 9, 2008.

Polls in Himachal Pradesh were slightly advanced in consultation with political parties, taking into account the weather conditions in the early part of next year.

Model code

He said the Model Code of Conduct would come into effect immediately. It would apply to the whole of Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh and be applicable to all candidates, political parties, State governments and the Union Government.

There are 3.66 crore voters in Gujarat who would cast their votes in 39,620 polling stations and 45.43 lakh in Himachal Pradesh who would exercise their franchise in 6,232 polling stations. Thirty nine of the 182 constituencies in Gujarat are reserved for scheduled castes and tribes while the number of reserved seats in Himachal Pradesh was 19 out of the 68 seats.

Different requirement

Mr. Gopalaswami said every effort would be made to ensure a free and fair poll. The minority community in Gujarat, including those staying in camps (after the Godhra train carnage), would be able to vote without fear. They would be given electoral photo identify cards.

Asked why elections in Gujarat were being held only in two phases while it was a multi-phased exercise in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal, he said the requirement and approach to deployment of paramilitary forces were “different.”

He said the Commission would deploy General and Expenditure Observers to ensure smooth conduct of polls. They would be asked to keep a close watch at every stage of the electoral process to ensure free and fair elections.

He said officials in Gujarat against whom there were cases, or who had been indicted by courts or had acted unfairly in the last polls would not be given poll duty.

About 68,000 police and paramilitary personnel, including those brought in from other States, would be deployed in the two States.

The CEC said that detailed guidelines had been issued for video coverage of all critical events during the election process and polling at all vulnerable booths on the poll day.

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