All about the polls

The State Election Commission SEC office is a picture of frenetic activity. Preparations for the panchayat polls are on in full swing. People rush in with files even as telephones ring constantly. For Buddhadeb Das,since March 1,every day of the week has been a Monday. And so it will be till July 31,when the panchayat poll process will finally be over.

Das is the personal assistant to the Secretary,executive head of the commission,and all orders from him are routed through Das. Files stream in quickly and are despatched at the same pace,instructions are attended to at the same pace. Cups of tea gone cold sit on his desk,but Das has no time. I dont even have time for lunch. My lunchbox goes back home unopened and intact sometimes, says Das.

The SEC is responsible for conducting civic elections in West Bengal. The first of the three-phase panchayat elections will take place on July 2; the next two phases will be held on July 6 and July 9. Results will be declared on July 13. Being the apex body,the SEC has to oversee everythingfrom the deployment of security forces and sending of ballot boxes to coordination with state government officials. Filing of nominations has begun. Theres little time and were working hard to make the rural polls free,fair and peaceful. I do everything the secretary saab assigns to me, says Das in his chamber at the SEC office.

This year the panchayat elections have also seen an unprecedented tussle between the state government and SEC on issues such as number of phases and the use of central paramilitary forces. The matter even went to the high court,which ordered that the poll process should be finished before July 15.

Its 11.30 am and the Secretary has just returned from a meeting with State Election Commissioner Meera Pandey. Das is called in and minutes later,he returns armed with files.

One of his principal tasks now is to liaison with the 346 observers of the SEC. After the observers are appointed and sent to the blocks,Das has to oversee details of logistic support for them. The SEC has also left instructions for the observers to send text messages to the Secretary.

Dass previous experience at the Panchayat Department stands him in good stead. I have worked with observers during Assembly and parliamentary elections and I know how they are handled, says Das. He retired from the panchayat department last May but was immediately employed by the SEC.

Dass task now has become tougher with the SECs orders to observers to always remain alert. With observers constantly sending communication,responses have to be sent back in no time.

The panchayat elections are a huge task and all of us are working very hard. Last year,after I joined in June,we had to conduct some civic elections but that was not as huge a task as holding panchayat elections. Here we work as a family and everyone from Madam Commissioner to a Group D employee is toiling hard to make this successful, says Das.

A resident of Janai in Hooghly district,Das leaves for office at 8 in the morning and returns at 11 or 12 in the night. He has had to give up a few leisure activities. I loved listening to old songs but now I have no time. I used to go for morning walks but I have no time for that too, says Das.

Theres no time to talk to my family wife and son. I cant attend family functions. All this began on March 1 and it will only be after July that life will return to normalcy, Das says.