Gandhinagar, July 11: With the Election Commission (EC) deciding to hold the Lok Sabha elections in Gujarat in the first phase on September 4, the State's election machinery is gearing up to ensure a free and fair one-day poll in Gujarat.As per the poll schedule for Gujarat received by the State Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) from the EC on Sunday, the notification for the LS elections will be issued on August 11 and the last date for filing nomination papers will be August 18. A scrutiny of the nomination papers will take place on August 19, while the last date for withdrawal has been fixed as August 21. Counting will be on October 5, a month after holding the general elections.In an exclusive chat with Express Newsline, State CEO Balwant Singh said, "We are fully prepared to hold the LS elections in Gujarat on September 4. The model code of conduct for all political parties participating in the general elections comes into force from today itself".Now that the EC has announced the poll schedule, the State Government will not be able to announce any major policy decisions nor can it effect transfers of any election-related officers in the State. The CEO said there would be restrictions on ministers and chairpersons of the various boards and corporations using official cars and conducting official tours in any of the constituencies under the Model Code of Conduct.Singh said due to the revised electoral rolls, about 11 lakh new voters would be added to the total of 2,87,74,000 who participated in the 1998 Lok Sabha elections in the State. He, however, said there would be a marginal increase in the total number of polling booths this time.When queried, the CEO said that despite the present Kargil conflict, he did not anticipate any problem in getting adequate paramilitary forces to ensure smooth parliamentary elections in Gujarat since the EC had decided to conduct the polls phase-wise throughout the country.The services of armed police from neighbouring States like Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh could be requisitioned to assist the local police during elections in Gujarat, he said.State Joint CEO J P Jadeja said his office had already procured the necessary stationery to be used in the elections and placed an order for the purchase of paper for preparing ballots. The printing of ballot papers will start soon. Besides, ballot boxes are being readied in all talukas.Jadeja said the government had already allocated Rs 40 crore to meet the overall poll expenditure in the State, which would be fully reimbursed by the Centre later.The Joint CEO said the monsoon factor would not hamper the election process, though it may cause some hardship to the polling staff who have to move from one place to another.
