Vijayawada: Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar on Wednesday said a solid set of preparations has been put in place to conduct elections in Andhra Pradesh and promised the best possible electoral experience in 2024, truly befitting the largest democracy in the world.
The Election Commission is committed to conduct transparent and inducement-free polls and instructions have been issued to officials to deal sternly with all offenders, he said.
Culminating the two-day visit of the Commission to the southern state, Kumar said the poll body is ready for hard work and necessary interventions in the run-up to the simultaneous Legislative Assembly and Lok Sabha polls.
Addressing a press conference, Kumar said purity of electoral rolls remains a priority and all concerns raised by the political parties have been addressed.
The commission has given clear and firm directions to election machinery and the entire bureaucracy to be impartial, transparent and accessible to all stakeholders, he said.
The EC team has met several political parties who have made many requests ranging from curbing of cash distribution to influencing votes and strict enforcement for inducement-free elections, he added.
“It is not that you take action against only the small handlers of the liquor, those who are carrying it. Go to the kingpins who are the organisers of crime. Similarly, there would be a strict watch on cash through banks, by the wallets, by the UPI, whatever mode it gets transported,” he said.
All the airports including airstrips and helipads would be checked for all kinds of helicopter and air services on intelligence basis, he further said.
According to Kumar, Andhra Pradesh has a voter base of 4.07 crore out of which 2.07 are female electors and he noted that the southern state has a good electoral gender ratio of 1,036.
As many as 159 assembly constituencies in Andhra Pradesh feature an electoral gender ratio of more than 1,000.
The electoral gender ratio have consistently improved over the years in Andhra Pradesh: 1,013 in 2014, 1,021 (2019) and 1,036 (2024).
He further said about 5.80 lakh voters are above 80 years of age and 1,174 are over 100 years old.
Interested senior citizens above 80 and eligible specially-abled persons would be allowed to vote from the comfort of their home but have to apply for that facility by filling Form 20 five days after the issuance of election notification, said Kumar.
According to the CEC, there are 3,486 transgender voters, 4.76 lakh differently-abled, 7.88 lakh first time (18 to 19 years) and 67,903 service electors.
The final electoral rolls will be published on January 22, he said.
The Andhra Pradesh Assembly has 175 segments while there are 25 Lok Sabha seats. As many as 139 assembly constituencies fall under the general category, seven (ST) and 29 (SC).
Twenty Lok Sabha constituencies fall under the general category, one (ST) and four (SC).
The Election Commission has achieved 100 per cent electoral enrollment of tribals belonging to 11 Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTG) with a population of 4.29 lakh, whose voting eligible population has been pegged at 2.94 lakh.
Calling on the people of Andhra Pradesh to participate in the elections by casting their votes, Kumar said 175 officials will be deployed to campaign about the importance of voting in colleges.
Further, Kumar said the state is expected to have 46,165 polling stations (11,978 urban and 34,187 rural). Each polling station is estimated to see a turnout of 870 voters on average.
Likewise, there will be 50 polling stations managed by differently-abled personnel, 50 youth managed, 125 women managed and 679 model polling stations.
Toilets, drinking water, poll volunteers, sufficient illumination, signage, ramp, wheel chair, help desk and voter facilitation centre are the minimum assured facilities in the polling stations.
As part of deploying technology for the conduct of free and fair elections, the CEC said four apps, cVigil, Voter Helpline App, Suvidha Portal and Know Your Candidates, will be available.
He said that one can anonymously lodge any complaint on the cVigil app such as taking a photograph, video or typing a complaint and uploading it. The Election Commission will respond within 100 minutes to resolve the issue.
Likewise, Voter Helpline App will help people to know about polling booth details, connect with local booth level officers, download electronic electoral photo identity cards (e-EPIC), check election results and others.
Similarly, Suvidha Portal is a technological intervention to ensure a level playing field, which can enable election candidates to seek permission for meetings, rallies, book a ground for conducting a rally and others on a strictly first in and first out (FIFO) basis.
The fourth app is Know Your Candidate, which contains all the details about election candidates, including their criminal record.
Kumar said 139 check-posts will be made operational across the state to ensure inducement-free elections.
He highlighted that the values of inducements, which also include cash, rose by 835 per cent to Rs 3,437 crore in the last assembly elections in 11 states during 2022 and 2023.
Moreover, the CEC observed that the Election Commission would also rope in Central enforcement agencies to crackdown on money power, liquor flow, electronic cash transfers and other violations during polls.
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