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ASSEMBLY ELECTION 2011 :: GOALPARA DISTRICT |
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Since
the conduct of Election is a massive exercise, its success depends on
preparation of a meticulous action plan including all aspects of Election
and keeping this aspect in mind as well as inpursuance of guideline issued
by Election Commission of India, this “District Election Plan” is
formulated incorporating the relevant aspects for the purpose of smooth,
peaceful and fair conduct of Election. For all relevant election related
information, that one might want to know regarding the General Election to
the Legislative Assembly Constituencies of 36-Dudhnoi (ST), 37-Goalpara
East, 38-Goalpara West and 39-Jaleswar in Goalpara District. The minutest details of planning of each individual cell like distribution and receipt of polling materials, transport plan etc. will be available with the concerned cell which is being done as per the exact assessment / requirement and exigency of the situation. SCHEDULE OF ASSEMBLY ELECTION
– 2011
ADMINISTRATIVE
UNITS (Including Constituencies) The
district of Goalpara contains 4 ( four ) Legislative Assembly
Constituencies. These are 36-Dudhnai (ST) LAC, 37-Goalpara East LAC,
38-Goalpara West LAC and 39-Jaleswar LAC. 36-Dudhnai (ST) LAC is a segment
of 7-Guwahati HPC and other 3 LACs are segments of 4-Dhubri HPC. It may be
mentioned that Khannkhowa GP under Kharmuza Development Block of Goalpara
district falls in the Abhayapuri (South) LAC which is a segment of Barpeta
HPC. The
DEO, Goalpara (DC, Goalpara) is also responsible for conduct of elections
in 38 polling stations of 39-Jaleswar LAC which fall under the
administrative jurisdiction of Dhubri district. An
Autonomous Council, namely, Rabha Hasong Autonomous Council (RHAC) was
formed with its head quarters at Dudhnoi town. The jurisdiction of this
Council extents upto Rani area of Kamrup district and except some parts of
Matia, Balijana and Lakhipur Revenue Circles of this district, it embraces
almost the entire district of Goalpara.
In the autonomous Council area, tribals other than Rabhas, like
Bodos, the Garos, the Kochs, the Rajbongsis and others who constitute more
than half of the population of the council area, however, seem to have the
feeling of being left out from the benefit of the Council. As a result, a
common platform under the name and style “Ethnic Group Coordination
Committee” (EGCC) was formed by All Bodo Student Union (ABSU), All Garo
Student Union (AGSU) and all Hajong Student Union (AHSU) of south Kamrup
and Goalpara district demanding equal rights for the Bodo, Garo and Hajong
communities in RHAC area. PARTICULARS
OF the LEGISLATIVE
ASSEMBLY CONSTITUENCIES
POLLING
STATIONS INCLUDING COMMUNICATION PLAN Basic
details of polling stations
Classification of Polling Stations on the basis of
numbers of electors
Total
poling station locations in the district =464 Nos. Vulnerable
villages/ Hamlets:
FORMATION
OF POLLING PARTIES: Personnel
Cell shall be responsible for drafting of Presiding and Polling Officers.
Lists of employees from various State Govt./ Central Govt./ PSUs / Boards
etc. shall be collected. Polling teams shall be formed by ensuring mixing
of personnel by computerized randomization as per ECI’s guidelines. The
availability of personnel drafted/enlisted so far for 669 polling stations
is as follows:-
The
training of the polling personnel is proposed to be carried out in three
rounds. The details of the same are given separately in the Chapter
“Training of Polling Personnel”. The first and second rounds would
include the Presiding and 1st Polling Officers. Polling
materials : GEneral: All
required material would be procured locally except the items directly
provided by the Election Department. Among the polling materials, special
attention would be given to EVMs, ballot papers (for tendered ballot) and
the marked copies of the electoral roll. The Election Branch would procure
all material required particularly all items mentioned in Annexure-XII of “Handbook
for returning Officers” for distribution amongst polling parties.
Items like EVMs, ballot papers for fixing on EVM and for tendered votes,
voting compartments, indelible ink, strip seal, paper seal, sealing wax,
arrow cross mark, metal seal etc. would be supplied by office of the CEO,
while the remaining items (for distribution to polling parties, counting
arrangements etc) shall be procured locally and handed over to Material
Cell for distribution to polling parties. The local procurement shall be
done by the Election Branch observing required formalities in consultation
with the I/C “Material Cell”. Ballot
paperS : The
number of ballot papers required for all the 4 (four) LACs would be around
13500. One Assistant Returning Officer will be entrusted at the
appropriate time to collect the ballot papers from the Govt. Press,
Guwahati. Sorting and scrutiny of ballot papers will take place on receipt
under his supervision after which the same shall be stored appropriately.
On the day of EVM setting, the ballot papers would be handed over to the
I/C, EVM Cell for preparation of EVMs and also to I/C Material Cell for
packing the same P.S. wise
(for tendered ballots). The postal ballot paper for all the LACs would be
printed by locally by the Ballot Paper Cell including envelops (Form 13B,
13C) and sent for issue. EVMs
: The
number of EVMs received is 770(new), out of these, 669 nos would be
required to be distributed to the polling personnel on the day of dispatch
of polling parties. The remaining shall be used carrying by the Zonal
Officers/ Magistrates on the day of the poll and for training and EVM
awareness generation purposes. PREPARATION
OF EVMS : Upon
receipt of ballot papers, the EVMs would be set by the EVM Cell in the
presence of the representatives of political parties etc as prescribed.
Special training will be imparted to those involved in EVM setting.
Concerned Zonal Officers shall also be involved in the process. The EVMs
shall be kept in the strong rooms after preparation at RO level. This is
expected to be done in the 1st week of April 2011. These EVMs would be
issued for polling and after receipt shall be kept again in the strong
rooms. The Zonal Officers shall give a certificate to the effect that the
EVMs for their zones have been set properly. Marked copy
of electoral roll : Electoral
roll with 01/01/2011 as the qualifying date will be used for the ensuing
election. The cell constituted for the purpose will prepare 4 (four) sets
of marked copies of electoral rolls per polling station. Three copies
shall be handed over to the polling parties, while one copy shall be kept
reserved for carrying by Zonal Magistrates/Zonal Officers. The Postal
Ballot Paper Cell will record necessary entry of postal ballot and CSV and
submit the same to Materials Cell for distribution to the Presiding
Officers. DESPATCH
AND RECEIPT OF POLLING MATERIALS : All
the polling parties shall be despatched on 9th & 10th April 2011. At
first, all polling personnel would report at the Personnel Cell, after
having seen their allotted polling stations on Boards specially erected
for the purpose. Allotment of polling stations to polling parties shall be
done by the Personnel Cell. This information shall be displayed
prominently on Boards. On
the day of dispatch of polling parties, a minimum of five counters would
be set up for each LAC, with each counter covering around 20 polling
stations. The receipt of polling materials parties shall be done at the
same venue from which they were despatched. However, the number of
counters would be increased to at least eight per LAC at the time of
receipt of polling materials. The venue for the same would be Lunch
shall be provided to the polling parties on the day of dispatch and dinner
would be provided on the poll day after their return. After lunch or
otherwise, all parties shall report to the Transport Cell which will
arrange for their transport for sending them to their respective polling
stations. Payment of remuneration at the prescribed rates would be made to
the polling personnel when they receive the polling materials. The
distribution and receipt of materials would be done by Material Cell.
Payment of remuneration shall be done by Bill Cell while Refreshment Cell
will provide them refreshment coupons for lunch and dinner. Construction
Cell shall construct the required counters. Consequent upon receipt of
EVMs and specified materials from the receipt counters, the sealed EVMs
along with Form No 17C, paper seal a/c covers will be safely stored in
serially numbered earmarked spaces in the strong room. Construction Cell
shall ensure floor marking/ rack marking etc in advance to streamline the
proper storage of sealed EVMs LAC wise. Immediately after all the EVMs are
received and stored, the strong room will be locked and sealed as per
procedure. The Officer in Charge, Strong Room Cell will ensure this. The
Superintendent of Police, Goalpara shall take adequate steps for guarding
the strong room till the counting of votes. Special
attention shall have to be given for checking of Presiding officer’s
Diary, Part I of Account of Votes Recorded in Form 17C, voter turn-out
figures in PS 05 and any other document required to be checked as per ECI
instructions. This shall be done by the Statistical/ Compilation
Cell. Only after satisfactory verification of the above, would the
Presiding Officer be relieved. It should be endeavoured to ensure quick
receipt of materials, checking etc so that the tired polling parties are
relieved as early as possible. For this purpose, adequate number of
receipt counters and adequate number of well trained personnel for
checking of documents shall be deployed. Enforcement
of Model Code of Conduct : The
cell constituted for this purpose shall monitor the activities of
candidates, political parties etc for enforcement of Model Code of
Conduct. Any violation shall immediately be brought to the notice of the
ARO/ DEO. In addition, meetings shall be held as often as possible with
the political parties to ensure holding of free and fair elections. Control room
and Hotline : A
Control Room shall be set up in the Deputy Commissioner’s Office with
phone No. 240125. All persons engaged for control room shall receive all
information/ messages and take prompt action where necessary and record it
in the Register maintained in the control room. As per CEO’s
instructions Hotline shall be installed at the stipulated locations. MEDIA AND INFORMATION: Media
and information cell shall ensure handling of and liaison with the media.
On the day of counting, a Media centre will be set up at Goalpara College
premises in a separate room, with facilities like telephone, FAX, TV
etc on pay and use basis. EVM
AWARENESS: Since
this is the second time, EVMs would be used in elections in the district,
special efforts shall be required to generate awareness about EVM use
amongst all concerned ie voters, polling personnel, political parties,
media persons etc. For spreading awareness amongst the voters screening of
video films on EVM use would be done at interior places throughout the
election district like hats, bazaars etc. Secondly, display of actual EVMs
in interior areas would also be organised. Efforts shall have to be made to optimally utilise the spare EVMs for
awareness as well as training of polling personnel. Functionaries
of political parties, media persons would be given hands-on training in
the DC’s office itself. TRAINING
OF THE POLLING PERSONNEL AND OTHER OFFICIALS Two officers namely R.
Rahman, EO, Goalpara, and K Talukdar, Sr.ADO, Agril, have already been
trained centrally at CEO office, Guwahati, as Master Trainers for
imparting training to Gazetted Officers for Training of polling personnel.
Twenty one numbers of Gazetted Officers such as AEEs, Asstt. Engineers,
Junior Engineers and Agriculture Development Officers have been trained
for imparting Training to polling personel. All the seventy nine Zonal
and Sector Officers engaged for Election Duty have to be trained in EVM
handling and all these above Officers shall impart training to polling
personnel in three phases. The
training of polling personnel has been divided into two parts : 1.
Intensive training about
the use and handling of EVMs. 2.
Training about other
aspects for holding Elections. The training on EVMs will
be imparted by the Master Trainers and Zonal Officers and the training
about conduct of polling process, receipt and deposit of polling materials
etc shall be imparted by senior Civil Servants of the District. The training is proposed
to be held at eleven venues of the district to facilitate easy
participation of polling personnel. Training, Photography and
Postal Ballot / EDC form receipt Schedule (later) of Presiding and First
Polling Officer
The
training of Officers and Staff for counting shall be conducted after the
poll is over. For
the purpose of smooth and peaceful conduct of the poll, each of the
4(Four) LA constituencies under Election District Goalpara has been
divided into several Zones and Sectors. One
Addl. District Magistrate is entrusted with the charge of each LA
Constituency as Constituency Magistrate. One
Sector Officer is entrusted in each sector and he will be directly
responsible for smooth conduct of the poll process in the polling stations
assigned to him. One Zonal Magistrate will supervise the Sector Officers
within his jurisdiction. The LAC wise numbers of Zones / Sectors as well
as Police Zones / Sectors are as follows :
Sensitivity of Polling Stations
:
A05-AC-wise
Voter Turnout
Counting
Arrangements The
counting would be carried out as per the following plan.
*
Excluding ARO’s table. a.)
Construction of the Counting Hall: Temporary protective walls with
wire-net would be constructed on all four sides of the Counting halls
providing ample space is provided for the counting agents to sit and
observe the counting process. b.) Counting Personnel: (i)
Asstt
Returning Officer: Each counting hall will be in-charge of an Asstt
Returning Officer. He shall be assisted by other Asstt Returning
Officers/ Officers. (ii)
Counting
Supervisor and Counting Assistant shall be provided at each table. (iii)
Compiler:
In each hall there will be one Accounts officer and one Assistant
Accounts Officer for compilation. (iv)
Distribution
& Collection Officer. There will be an officer against each Hall for
collection of the EVMs from the Strong
Room and their distributuion amongst the Counting Tables. (v)
Grade
IV : In each hall, there will be adequate nos of such personnel. (vi)
Packing
and Sealing of EVMs etc: Separate arrangements shall be made Hall-wise for
packing and sealing of the EVMs after counting. (vii)
Compilation
Cell shall arrange for compilation of the results. (viii)
The
Election Branch shall ensure that adequate numbers of sweepers are
detailed at each counting hall to ensure its cleanliness throughout. (ix)
The
counting Supervisors and counting Assistants will report at the Counting
Centres at the stipulated time on the day of counting. c)
Identity passes for Counting Personnel: Identity passes for counting personnel
will be issued by the Personnel Cell well ahead of the day of counting. d.) Identity
Passes For Counting Agents:
Identity passes for counting agents will be issued by the Personnel
Cell. For this purpose: i)
All the candidates/ election agents will be informed well ahead
about number of Counting Halls and tables. ii)
The
candidates / election agents will be informed to submit application in
Form 18 for appointment of counting agents. iii)
The counting
agents will have to sign the declaration in presence of officer in-charge
of the cell. iv)
The counting agents will
have to submit their names and photographs before the stipulated time. v)
The identity
cards will be issued under proper signature and seal. vi)
Seating
arrangements will be made for counting agents against each counting table. vii)
Each counting agent will
have a badge indicating the name of the candidate and the number of the
Table/ Hall where he will be watching the counting of votes.
e)
Frisking
activity to prevent entry of unwanted objects into the Counting Hall will
be arranged by SP Goalpara. Metal detectors, Door frame metal Detector
(DFMD) will be arranged by the SP Goalpara. f)
Electricity
Cell will ensure uninterrupted and proper lighting at the counting
centres. Arrangement for Generator etc shall also be made. g)
Refreshment
as entitled will be made available to the counting personnel engaged in
the Counting Halls. h)
Necessary
form and stationeries will be made available by the Election Officer. i)
Adequate
communication facilities like telephone; fax etc shall be arranged as per
ECI instructions. j)
Magistrates
shall be detailed in the vicinity of counting centre to for maintenance of
law and order. k)
Fire Brigade
& tear gas equipments required for any eventuality shall be arranged
by the SP, Goalpara. l.) Other
arrangements for counting: Security
sheds, cook sheds, space for Generator sets, temporary toilets etc shall
be provided at the counting centres. Seating arrangement for the Observers
shall also be made in the counting centres during the time of counting
process with TV facility. The Information and Media Cell shall also be
accommodated at the Counting Centre. Counting of Votes Recorded against each candidates : No. & Name of AC : 36-Dudhnai (ST)
No. & Name of AC : 38-Goalpara West :
No. & Name of AC : 39-Jaleswar :
POLLING
STAFF WELFARE One
Additional Deputy Commissioner will be appointed as the nodal officer to
co-ordinate and supervise polling personnel welfare measures. Review
meetings shall be taken to ensure the provision of basic amelities for the
polling personnel at training venues, despatch and receipt centres and the
polling stations. The sector officers shall also be sensitised in this
regard by the Cell in-Charge.
Following steps are taken to ensure the polling personal welfare:-
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