Assembly polls in Assam will be held on time in April-May next year and the Election Commission has set in motion the poll preparations.
Addressing a press conference on the sidelines of a zonal conference of chief electoral officers here today, Navin Chawla, the Chief Election Commissioner, said that the commission had already started the preliminary preparations for the upcoming polls. The dates for the polls will be announced in due course of time.
He said that for smooth conduct of polls at various polling booths, the commission would be appointing booth-level officers (BLO) in every booth. The BLOs would be local people who have good understanding of the issues pertaining to that area. The chief electoral officer of Assam, said Chawla, has been entrusted to train the BLOs in advance so that they can be posted at the booths well in time.
The chief electoral officer has been entursted to review the existing polling stations and if found that the size of the electorate had gone up drastically, new or auxillary polling booths would be created to lessen the pressure on existing booths.
Stating that the issue of doubtful voters was always a concern, Chawla said that the electoral roll would be scrutinised strictlly to keep such persons out of the election process. Chawla, however, said that security was not an important issue in the upcoming polls, barring in few areas and pockets.
