The district administration has stepped up efforts to ensure free and fair elections in Junagadh. According to the district election officer and collector,Aswini Kumar,out of a total of 1,934 polling booths,248 have been identified as sensitive,while 72 villages in the district have been marked as vulnerable. Security will be tightened further in these booths and villages. These booths have been divided into three categories C-1,C-2 and C-3. Micro observers will ensure the smooth functioning of the entire poll process there, said Kumar. In the last General Elections in 2004,booths where single candidates had mustered over 75 per cent votes have been identified as vulnerable,Kumar said. According to him,a total of 13.11 lakh voters have been listed in Junagadh constituency out of which 1.84 lakh voters are without electoral photo identity cards (EPIC). Altogether 9,845 state and Central government employees and officials will be engaged in election duty. After the implementation of the Model Code of Conduct,action has been taken against 5,925 people under various provisions of law,Kumar added. Meanwhile,the 100th battalion of Rapid Action Force (RAF) has arrived in Junagadh. RAF jawans have started visiting different areas under a familiarisation programme,said an official.
