Manipur chief electoral officer Rajesh Agrawal on Saturday held a meeting with the representatives of Recognised National and political parties in Manipur and said that the ECI is keeping a close eye and concerned administrative authorities have been instructed to take necessary precautions and actions to prevent poll violence.
He briefed the representatives of Recognised National and State political parties about the programme of Special Summary Revision with respect to January 1, 2022 as a qualifying date wherein the Draft Electoral Rolls will be published on November 1, 2021.
Rajesh Agrawal requested the representatives of the political parties to make timely claims and objections from November 1 till November 30 and further informed that the list of claims and objections will be made available in chief electoral officers’ website.
Stating that special camps will be held on November 13, 14, 27, 28 where booth level officers will be present at their respective polling stations, he also appealed to all the representatives of political parties to appoint booth level agents and participate in the special camps to ensure enrolment of eligible electors.
As many as 65 additional polling stations have been approved by the Election Commission of India (ECI) and permission for shifting of 86 polling stations has been granted, Agrawal said.
Auxiliary Polling stations, if required, will also be considered. He also suggested the advantage of converging multiple polling stations into a suitable location or campus, especially in urban areas.
Pointing out the unfortunate pre-poll violence occurred recently in some parts of the state, Rajesh Agrawal said that the ECI is keeping a close eye and concerned administrative authorities have been instructed to take necessary precautions and actions. He appealed to all the stakeholders and political parties to cooperate in maintaining normalcy.
He also sought support from the political parties to ensure conduct of smooth, free and fair elections in the state. He also mentioned that the officials of the ECI had recently visited the state to monitor the preparedness of the conduct of the upcoming State Assembly Election, 2022.
Representatives of Political Parties expressed views concerning the provision for availing voting facility by the eligible voters staying outside the state.
The programme was also attended by additional chief electoral officer Naorem Praveen Singh, joint CEO, Manipur Ramananda Nongmeikapam, database administrator (CEO) L Sujata Devi and coordinator, Permanent Media Cell and state nodal officer for Media W Phajatombi and officials concerned.
It may be mentioned that the schedule of Special Summary Revision 2022 had already been issued by the chief electoral officer, Manipur – the Publication of Integrated Draft Electoral Roll is scheduled on November 1; Period of filing claims and objections is from November 1 to 30; special Campaign at all polling station locations are to be held on November 13, 14, 27 and 28. The disposal of claims and objections will be done by December 20. The final electoral roll will be published on January 5 2022.
