CEC reviews poll preparedness in Punjab, Haryana

Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora on Monday reviewed poll preparedness in Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh for the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections.

He held a meeting with chief electoral officers (CEOs) of the two states and the Union Territory which was followed by another meeting with top officials of the civil and police administration.

They discussed multifarious issues related to provision of Assured Minimum Facilities (AMFs) at the polling stations, strengthening of manpower, filling up of all vacant positions of election functionaries at the field level, availability of EVMs/VVPATs, an official release said.

Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh have 13, 10 and 1 Lok Sabha seats, respectively.

Arora directed the CEOs to ensure that all 'Contact Centres' with a uniform number -- '1950' shall be made operational as a single point contact for all election related information and facilitation to voters.

The 'Contact Centre' is the Election Commission's step forward towards bringing about electoral reforms where citizens and officials are empowered to monitor and report any anomaly or violation of ECI instructions in the field before, during or post elections.

The chief election commissioner also emphasised on the urgent need to create a comprehensive database of PwD voters to ensure that adequate assistance is provided to them on polling day.