Working on introducing NOTA clause for polls in 5 states: EC

The Election Commission is working on introducing the 'None of the above' clause in the upcoming Assembly polls in five states, Director General of the Election Commission of India Akshay Raut said today.
In view of the Supreme Court's order, Election Commission has decided to include of 'None of the above' (NOTA) provision in the Assembly polls, he said at a press conference here.
Raut conducted the press conference after holding a series of meetings through the day with the Returning Officers in all 33 districts of the state via video conferencing.
The modalities to include and count NOTA in five states-- Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi, Chhattisgarh and Mizoram-- is under consideration by the Election Commission, he said.

Central Observers would visit each state twice for an effective monitoring of the poll preparations, especially containing paid news and making the public aware about casting their votes, Raut said, adding that the first visit would be next week, and the second one before the polls.
As an awareness campaign, a data base of 45 lakh Rajasthan voters has been prepared. These voters will be send SMSes about using their right to vote, Raut said.

Also, "Sankalp Patra" will be sent to voters through schools and colleges and that they will be asked to commit that they will not miss voting, he said, adding that a voter slip based on the photo identity card will also be distributed to each voter on the eve of the polls.

Making available facilities for the voters like drinking water, wheelchairs and tent will be the prime concern of the election department, he said.
Media Certification and Monitoring Committee (MCMC) would be working effectively to contain paid news, Raut said, adding the participation by news personnel in the working of MCMC will be encouraged.
The commission is also working on a project to increase women's participation in polling, he said.