New Delhi, March 18 (IANS) The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Wednesday said it has deployed more than 25 lakh officials to ensure that the upcoming Assembly elections in four states and one Union Territory are conducted in a violence-free and inducement-free manner.

The poll body had, on Sunday, announced the schedule for the General Elections to the Legislative Assemblies of Assam, Kerala, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal, along with bye-elections in six states.

To facilitate the smooth and orderly conduct of polling across multiple phases in these five regions, the ECI has mobilised a massive workforce of election personnel.

According to official data, over 25 lakh officials have been deployed for the exercise, while the total number of eligible voters stands at more than 17.4 crore. This translates to nearly one election official being assigned for every 70 voters.

Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, while announcing the poll schedule earlier, had directed all officials to function with complete neutrality. He emphasised that the objective is to ensure elections that are free from violence and inducements, allowing every voter to exercise their franchise without fear or favour.

As per the Commission, the deployed personnel include approximately 15 lakh polling staff, 8.5 lakh security personnel, 40,000 counting staff, 49,000 micro observers, 21,000 sector officers, and around 15,000 additional micro observers for counting duties, among others.

At the grassroots level, the election machinery is being supported by more than 2.18 lakh Booth Level Officers (BLOs), who are accessible to voters through phone calls as well as the Book-a-call to BLO feature available on the ECINet mobile application.

In addition, a dedicated call centre service has been made available at the number +91 (STD code) 1950 for registering complaints or queries at the level of District Election Officers and Returning Officers.

“All the personnel deployed shall be deemed to be on deputation to the Election Commission as per the provisions of Section 28A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951,” the ECI said.

Further strengthening the monitoring mechanism, the Commission has deployed 1,111 Central Observers across 832 Assembly constituencies to act as its representatives on the ground during both the general elections and the bye-elections.

This group includes 557 General Observers, 188 Police Observers, and 366 Expenditure Observers, with most of them having already reached their assigned constituencies.

These observers will make their contact details public and will meet candidates, representatives of political parties and members of the public at designated times each day to listen to and address election-related grievances.

–IANS

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