Preparations on for Assembly polls in Telangana

Telangana Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Rajath Kumar said Friday that preparations for Assembly polls in the state were underway, and EVMs, ballot boxes and VVPAT machines have started to arrive.

Officials were being sensitised even as the electoral list was being prepared, and as many as 32,574 booth level officers would be available for addressing issues related to the voters' list, Kumar told reporters here.

He said apart from EVMs, over 52,000 ballot boxes, around 41,000 Central Units and 44,000 Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail machines were expected to reach various districts before September 20.

The CEO said on September 15 and 16, booth level officials would be available at all polling stations to take up issues related to the voters' list.

Kumar said EVMs and VVPAT machines were vital for the successful conduct of elections, adding, "They have started arriving. The first lot has come to Asifabad district. As per my knowledge, three or four districts have already received the EVMs. We are getting them continuously."
After their arrival, a preliminary level inspection will be conducted to detect manufacturing defects, the CEO said, adding "it will be done in the presence of political parties to remove doubts if any..."