Under the leadership of Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar, the Commission reviewed the administrative, law and order, and election-related arrangements with the Chief Electoral Officer and the State Police Nodal Officer. The Commission instructed that free and fair elections should be conducted while maintaining a better law and order situation. They directed that deceased and relocated voters should be removed from the list.
A team of senior officials from the Election Commission of India held a meeting regarding the ongoing preparations for the Haryana Assembly Elections 2024 with the divisional commissioners, IG police ranges, deputy commissioners and DEOs, police commissioners and SPs, municipal commissioners, general observers, police observers, and expenditure observers of 11 districts. The team included Deputy Election Commissioner Hridesh Kumar, Secretary K.P. Singh, Principal Secretary Avinash Kumar, and Principal Secretary Mr. S.B. Joshi. The meeting was conducted in the presence of Haryana’s Chief Electoral Officer Pankaj Agarwal and State Police Nodal Officer Saurabh Singh.
Instructions were given to create a conducive environment to encourage voters to participate in the elections, along with ensuring minimum facilities at the polling booths. The DEO was directed to make polling booths equally accessible for all political parties and to promptly address complaints related to various election-related activities.
Deputy Election Commissioner Hridesh Kumar reviewed the timeline for marking voter lists, preparing the ASD (Absent, Shifted, Duplicate, or Dead) lists, distributing voter slips, and distributing Voter Photo Identity Cards (EPIC), as well as resolving any major complaints related to the voter lists. He stated that the printing of pending EPIC cards should be done by the printer and that the EPIC cards should be distributed by September 30. Booth Level Officers (BLOs) may be assigned to ensure compliance with this task. The marked lists should be prepared according to the instructions, and copies of the voter lists provided to the candidates should match the marked voter lists.
District Deputy Commissioners-cum-DEOs and SPs were instructed to personally inspect the polling centers and ensure the availability of necessary resources. The Commission also emphasized that voter facilitation booths should be established by Booth Level Officers (BLOs) at each polling center. Adequate seating arrangements and rest areas should be provided for voters waiting in lines.
The team highlighted the need for webcasting from all polling centers. To ensure better monitoring, high-quality cameras should be used, and the cameras should be installed in such a way that they adequately cover the polling centers for effective monitoring. Additionally, more cameras should be installed at sensitive centers.
The confidentiality of voting should not be compromised. The DEOs from various districts informed the Election Commission about the establishment of special model polling centers. These include pink booths operated entirely by female staff, booths managed by young employees, and booths supervised by personnel with disabilities (PWD).
The team reviewed the preparations for the departure and arrival points of the polling parties. After gathering information from all the officials, instructions were given to ensure proper arrangements for the lodging and meals of the polling parties. Additionally, adequate health services should also be arranged.
The police officials provided information about security arrangements to improve the law and order situation. The team expressed satisfaction with the deployment of central forces and other security measures. However, they emphasized the need for immediate action to enhance monitoring in border areas by coordinating with the police of neighboring states. They instructed the relevant authorities to establish interstate mirror checkpoints along the borders with neighboring states as per police manual guidelines.
They also instructed that seizures be increased to enhance confiscation efforts. Emphasis was placed on restructuring this strategy and monitoring the operations of various flying squad surveillance teams and static monitoring teams. Special efforts were directed for the districts of Faridabad, Gurugram, and Sonipat in this regard. The police officials assured that effective measures would be taken to increase surveillance and enhance seizures.
Chief Electoral Officer Pankaj Agarwal informed that arrangements will be made by the RO for home voting for differently-abled voters and voters over the age of 85 in the presence of a polling agent, and the process will also be videographed. He stated that training for election officials should be ensured, and other necessary requirements, such as transportation facilities for differently-abled voters and those over 85 years of age, should be provided by the department wherever needed.
At the end of the meeting, he emphasized that all efforts should be made to ensure free and fair elections. The districts included in the meeting were Faridabad, Nuh, Palwal, Gurugram, Mahendragarh, Rewari, Bhiwani, Charkhi Dadri, Jhajjar, Rohtak, and Sonipat.
