Voting for five assembly polls from Nov 7-30, counting of votes on Dec 3
New Delhi (PTI): Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Telangana and Mizoram will go to polls on different days from November 7-30 and votes will be counted for the five states on December 3, the Election Commission said on Monday, setting the stage for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls semi-finals.
Nearly 16 crore voters would be eligible to cast their votes in these elections, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar said at a press conference while asserting that strong measures are being put in place to make these polls inducement-free.
Voting for all 40 assembly seats in Mizoram will take place on November 7 along with the first phase of polling for 20 seats in Chhattisgarh.
The remaining 70 seats in Chhattisgarh will go to polls on November 17 alongside all 230 seats in Madhya Pradesh.
Voting for all 200 assembly seats in Rajasthan will take place on November 23, while the 119-member Telangana Assembly will be the last to go to polls on November 30.
Counting of votes for all five states will take place on December 3, CEC Kumar said.
This will be the last set of assembly elections ahead of the Lok Sabha polls next year.
While Congress is in power in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh is ruled by BJP, Telangana by Bharat Rashtra Samithi and Mizoram by Mizo National Front (MNF).
Kumar said these five states will have 1.77 lakh polling stations, of which 1.01 lakh will have webcasting facility.
More than 8,000 polling stations will be managed by women, he said.
"We have gathered here after a gap of six months. These elections are significant for the country and after this, we will meet for the announcement of the Lok Sabha elections," Kumar said.
"We have met all stakeholders, including political parties and enforcement agencies, while preparing for the assembly elections in Mizoram, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Telangana," he said.
The CEC said the Election Commission (EC) has given a special emphasis on making electoral rolls inclusive and the focus will also be on "roll-to-poll", or ensuring that all voters come to vote.
Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana and Mizoram will have 8.2 crore male and 7.8 crore female voters, while there will be 60.2 lakh first-time voters, he said.
For the first time, Kumar said, a new Election Seizure Management System is being introduced for the assembly polls to enhance oversight to ensure inducement-free elections.
A total of 940 checkposts have been put in place for a strict vigil along interstate borders and to dry up inflow of illicit liquor, cash, freebies and drugs, he said.
There will be zero tolerance for the use of money power and there will be a strict vigil over suspicious online cash transfers through wallets as well, the CEC said.
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Strict security measures in place in Mumbai for Messi's events at 2 venues Dec 14, say police
Mumbai (PTI): In view of Argentine superstar footballer Lionel Messi's visit to Mumbai on Sunday, the city police are implementing stringent security measures, like not allowing water bottles, metals, coins inside the stadiums and setting up watchtowers to keep an eye on the crowd, officials said.
The police also said taking extra care to avoid any stampede-like situation and to prevent recurrence of the chaotic situation that unfolded in Kolkata during Messi's visit on Saturday as thousands of fans protested inside the Salt Lake stadium here after failing to catch a clear glimpse of the football icon despite paying hefty sums for tickets.
Messi is expected to be present at the Cricket Club of India (Brabourne Stadium) in Mumbai on Sunday for a Padel GOAT Cup event followed by attending a celebrity football match. He is expected to proceed to the Wankhede Stadium for the GOAT India Tour main event around 5 pm.
"In view of Lionel Messi's visit to Mumbai, the police are geared up and have put in place a high level of security arrangements in and around the stadiums located in south Mumbai. Considering the chaos that prevailed in Kolkata and the security breach, we have deployed World Cup-level security arrangements at Brabourne and Wankhede stadiums," an official said.
Expecting heavy crowd near the stadiums during Messi's visit, the city police force has deployed more than 2,000 of its personnel near and around both the venues, he said.
As the Mumbai police have the experience of security 'bandobast' during the victory parade of ICC World Cup-winning Indian team and World Cup final match at the Wankhede Stadium, in which over one lakh cricket fans had gathered, we are prepared to handle a large crowd of fans, he said.
"We are trying to avoid the errors that occurred in the past," the official said.
There is no place to sneak inside the stadiums in Mumbai like the Kolkata stadium, according to him.
The police are also asking the organisers to provide all the required facilities to the fans inside the stadium, so that there will be no chaos, he said, adding the spectators have purchased tickets in the range of Rs 5,000 to 25,000. After paying so much of amount, any spectator expects proper services, while enjoying the event, he said.
The police are expecting 33,000 spectators at the Wankhede Stadium and over 4,000 at Brabourne Stadium. Besides this, more than 30,000 people are expected outside and around the stadiums just to have a glimpse of the football sensation, he said.
The organisers responsible for Messi's India visit recently came to Mumbai to discuss security arrangements. During the meeting, the Mumbai police asked them not to take the event lightly, according to the official.
After those requirements were fulfilled, the final security deployment was chalked out, he said.
Police has the standard procedure of the security arrangements inside the Wankhede Stadium, where people are barred from taking water bottles, metals objects, coins. Police are setting up watch towers near the stadiums and there will be traffic diversions, so that there is maximum space available to stand, according to the official.
Police are also appealing to the spectators to use public transport service for commuting and avoid personal vehicles to reach south Mumbai.
To avoid any stampede-like situation, police are also taking precautionary measures and will stop the fans some distance ahead of the stadium and public announcement systems will be used to guide the crowd. Barricades will be placed at various places to manage the crowd.
In case the crowd swells up beyond expectation, the police will divert people to other grounds and preparations in this regard underway, he said.
Additional police force has been deployed in south Mumbai to tackle any kind of situation, he said.
