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Onkar Singh in Jammu
The Jammu administration is ready for the second phase of election on September 24, an official said on Monday.
"We are not tense at all. We have made the required arrangements to hold free and fair polls in Jammu," The Deputy Commissioner of Jammu and Chief Electoral Officer of the region, Rohit Kansal, told rediff.com
"We have deployed sufficient police and paramilitary personnel at various places in the city and in and around the polling booths to ensure that everything passes off peacefully. We have taken special care of the sensitive and hypersensitive polling booths," he said.
There are over 1.15 million voters across thirteen assembly constituencies in the region.
The administration has set up 1092 polling booths. While 103 have been designated hypersensitive, 494 have been declared sensitive.
In all there are 164 contestants, including 12 women candidates, in the fray.
The fate of four state ministers will be decided on Tuesday. Power Minister Surjit Singh Salathia is contesting from Vijaypur constituency, Sports Minister Sardar Harbans Singh from Gandhi Nagar, Tourism Minister Ajatshatru Singh from Nagrota and Rural Development Minister Ajay Kumar Sadotra from Marh.
"We have set up a central complaints cell at the election control office and a senior officer has been deputed to deal with the complaints. In all, 10 observers of the election commission will supervise the polls. Two delegates of diplomats from the USA and the UK are also in town and they will go around to various place to see for themselves the smooth conduct of elections," Kansal said.
Over 5000 polling personnel will be on duty in the region. Half of them are from the state and the rest are from Punjab. Two-hundred-and-fifty buses have been requisitioned to transport polling staff to booths. Over 1400 electronic voting machines will be used.
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