In what is being described as one of the largest coordinated electoral deployments this decade, the Election Commission of India has mobilised over 25 lakh staff to superintend future Assembly elections in Assam, Kerala, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal.
On March 15, the poll schedule was announced and it will include more than 17.4 crore eligible voters in the five States and the Union Territory, and by-elections in six other states. The magnitude of the deployment is about one election official in every 70 voters, which confirms the administrative nature of the exercise.
According to chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, the wide presence is designed to make the elections violence-free and inducement-free and officials are instructed to remain completely impartial during the process.
It has close to 15 lakh polling staff and approximately 8.5 lakh security staff with 40,000 counting staff. Moreover, the Commission has sent approximately 49, 000 micro observers, 21, 000 sector officers and 15, 000 people specifically to monitor counting procedures.
On the ground level, there are more than 2.18 lakh Booth Level Officers (BLOs) who are the main contact with the voters. The Commission has also facilitated voter services by providing helplines and online services (ECINet application) to enable citizens file complaints or seek information online by the district/ returning officers.
In order to enhance the control, 1,111 central observers have been assigned to 832 Assembly constituencies. This set will consist of the general, the police and expenditure observers, who will be the field representatives of the Commission in keeping a check on the observance of the electoral norms. Majority of them are already in their respective constituencies.
These observers will be in close contact with the candidates, the political parties and the electorate and will provide a formal avenue of dealing with the grievances so that it can be addressed during the election period.
All the staff that will be deployed to do the election duties will work on behalf of the Commission as stipulated in the Representation of the People Act, 1951, which in effect means that they will be subordinated to temporary deputation so that the same accountability can be maintained everywhere.
This mass mobilisation follows an increased concentration on securing clean electoral procedures and the Commission reaffirms its effort of restricting inducements and a level playing field.
As the various stages of polling will be involved in many states that are politically important, the administrative and logistic component implemented will be the determinant in the smooth running of the elections.
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