GHMC Commissioner and Hyderabad District Election Officer D. Ronald Rose warned the employees deployed as election staff of severe action in case they fail to report for training sessions.
A total 3,820 polling staff have not attended the training, of the 23,500 employees deployed for elections. Two notices have been already issued to them, and in case they still play truant, cases will be booked against them, along with other actions, Mr. Rose said while addressing a media conference on Tuesday about election arrangements for Hyderabad and Secunderabad parliamentary constituencies and Secunderabad Cantonment assembly constituency.
Election notification will be issued on April 18, and nominations will be accepted up to April 25, every day between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. For Hyderabad parliamentary constituency, district Collector Anudeep Durishetty will accept the nominations in the Hyderabad district Collectorate. For Secunderabad, additional Collector Hemant Keshav Patil will accept in the GHMC Secunderabad zonal office, while the CEO, Cantonment will be the returning officer for the Secunderabad Cantonment Assembly constituency.
The nominations will be scrutinised on April 26, and the last date for withdrawal of nominations is April 29. Polling will be conducted on May 13 and counting will be on June 4. As per the final electoral roll published on February 8, the district has a total 45,70,138 voters, of whom 23,30,574 are men, 22,39,240 women and 324 others. Physically challenged voters are 22,995 in number, and 36,664 are senior citizens over 85 years of age. Elector to population ratio is 759 for 1,000, and gender ratio is 961 for 1,000. Service voters are 420, NRI voters 846 and electors between 18 and 19 years of age are 65,595.
A total 3,10,979 claims and objections have been received between January 23 and April 15, and they will be verified and incorporated before April 25, Mr. Rose assured. A total 3,986 polling stations have been established at 1,675 locations in the city. EVM demonstration centres are being set up for increasing awareness about EVMs and VVPATs among public.
Only four persons will be allowed along with the candidate for filing nominations, Mr. Rose informed. Each candidate should not spend more than ₹95 lakh, and must reveal details about the criminal cases against them. With regard to the seizure of cash and valuables, Mr. Rose said the same are being released within 24 hours of submission of evidence to the district-level grievance committee. So far, in 73 cases of seizure, applications have been received for release of nearly ₹2.4 crore, of which ₹1.7 crore pertaining to 70 cases have been released, he said.
Extensive awareness campaigns are being taken up to increase the voting percentage, which include sticker campaign, video campaign and awards for 10 best videos made to motivate voters. Residential welfare associations will be involved in this endeavour. Model polling booths, and special booths by women and persons with disabilities are part of the campaign to increase voting percentage.
