EC curbs on Gujarat's election assistants
The Election Commission, acting on a complaint filed by the Gujarat unit of the Congress, on Friday ordered a freeze on recruitment of ‘election assistants’ by the state administration.
By TNN |
NEW DELHI: The Election Commission, acting on a complaint filed by the Gujarat unit of the Congress, on Friday ordered a freeze on recruitment of ‘election assistants’ by the state administration.
Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee general secretary Girish Parmar had approached the EC complaining against the alleged recruitment drive for ‘election assistants’ in poll-bound Gujarat.
Mr Parmar, in his complaint, claimed that collectors of various districts in the state had issued advertisements in local dailies inviting applications for recruitment as election assistants on fixed wages and contract, EC sources were quoted as saying by news agencies.
The EC is believed to have sought from the state government a factual report on the issue latest by Monday, while calling for immediate suspension of the recruitment process, if initiated, pending the decision of the Commission.
The term of the current Gujarat assembly in the state expires on December 26. The EC has already started the pre-poll groundwork, having sent its teams to the state twice to review the election preparedness and carry out vulnerability mapping.
It was only earlier this week that six teams were dispatched by the EC to review the progress in revision of electoral rolls, EPIC coverage and map the vulnerable areas.
Each team comprised two officials and covered four districts. The teams, which returned here on Friday, will report to the EC on the state of electoral rolls as well as penetration of the EPIC in the relevant districts, besides pinpointing sensitive areas as part of vulnerability mapping.
Vulnerability mapping, a successful experiment tried out in the recent UP polls, will help the EC focus better on areas likely to see potential trouble mongers and absentee voters.
This may involve deployment of additional forces and a tougher scrutiny by election observers. The commission has meanwhile also asked the state government to transfer all those officials who have completed three years on a particular posting or are posted in their home districts.
Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee general secretary Girish Parmar had approached the EC complaining against the alleged recruitment drive for ‘election assistants’ in poll-bound Gujarat.
Mr Parmar, in his complaint, claimed that collectors of various districts in the state had issued advertisements in local dailies inviting applications for recruitment as election assistants on fixed wages and contract, EC sources were quoted as saying by news agencies.
The EC is believed to have sought from the state government a factual report on the issue latest by Monday, while calling for immediate suspension of the recruitment process, if initiated, pending the decision of the Commission.
The term of the current Gujarat assembly in the state expires on December 26. The EC has already started the pre-poll groundwork, having sent its teams to the state twice to review the election preparedness and carry out vulnerability mapping.
It was only earlier this week that six teams were dispatched by the EC to review the progress in revision of electoral rolls, EPIC coverage and map the vulnerable areas.
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Each team comprised two officials and covered four districts. The teams, which returned here on Friday, will report to the EC on the state of electoral rolls as well as penetration of the EPIC in the relevant districts, besides pinpointing sensitive areas as part of vulnerability mapping.
Vulnerability mapping, a successful experiment tried out in the recent UP polls, will help the EC focus better on areas likely to see potential trouble mongers and absentee voters.
This may involve deployment of additional forces and a tougher scrutiny by election observers. The commission has meanwhile also asked the state government to transfer all those officials who have completed three years on a particular posting or are posted in their home districts.
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