Hyderabad: Ahead of the polling day, the silent period of 48 hours in Telangana kickstarted at 5 pm on November 28 after the campaigning activities for November 30 were sealed.
The announcement was made by Chief Electoral Officer, Vikas Raj who asked the political parties to refrain from the campaign forthwith.
Dos and donts
Avoid all forms of election material, campaign, panel discussions and sound bytes which could influence voters, whether on television, radio or cable networks as they are prohibited.
Refrain from exit polls, opinion polls, standard debates and analyses as they are banned till half an hour after the polls.
Do not air advertisements about polling through electronic and social media, and print media. In case of any, a certification from the Media Certification and Monitoring Committee has to be acquired.
Sending SMS and voice messages in bulk must be avoided. Star campaigners and political leaders cannot address the media during the silent period.
No press conferences should be conducted about election matters. Additionally, political parties should not conduct any cultural events.
No public meetings or assembly of more than four people in one place is allowed owing to the imposition of Section 144.
Political workers or party leaders from outside their constituency are not allowed. Vehicles to carry voters to and from the polling station must be avoided by any political party as it will be considered a criminal offence.
Voter information slips distributed by political parties should be plain, and should not have the candidate’s name, or party’s name or symbol.
On polling day, the voters must carry their Electoral Photo Identity Cards (EPICs) or any of the 12 identity proofs listed by the EC. The voter information slip is not a valid identity proof.
Do not carry mobile phones and electronic gadgets to polling stations as they will not be allowed inside while casting a vote.
Polling arrangments
According to the Telangana CEO, the third randomisation of the polling personnel was underway.
The allotment would be kept in sealed covers and informed to the polling parties only the next day. The engineers deployed by the ECI too, will be present at the distribution, reception and counting centres.
There will be entry into the restricted area around the polling stations, and only one vehicle each for the candidates and their workers. Also, the vehicles should have permits from the District Election Officer displayed on the windscreen.
The agents may follow the EVMs on their vehicles, especially after the polling. Vehicles carrying the EVMs should carry designated routes, and should not stop anywhere en route.
Political party agents should arrive at the polling stations by 5:30 am on the polling day, 90 minutes before the polling starts.
Alerting the agents, the CEO said that after the mock poll, the VVPAT compartment should be empty and control units should be cleared of the mock poll results.
“The agents should not touch or go near the EVMs. If they do, the presiding officers reserve the right to get them evicted,” asserted the CEO.
A postal ballot exchange centre has been set up at the Gachibowli Stadium for all the 119 constituencies. Webcasting will be on at 27,094 polling stations and at 7,571 locations where more crowds are expected, CCTV camera coverage has been arranged even outside the polling stations.
The 35,655 polling stations have been divided into 3,803 sectors, with each sector monitored by the sector officer. The sector officer also has spare EVMs in case of any EVM glitch. They will have magisterial powers and are supported by police forces.
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