Patna, Oct 4 Ahead of the state Assembly elections, Bihar BJP chief Dilip Jaiswal met Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar on Saturday and gave certain suggestions, which included heavy security and identification of burqa-clad women by female officers at the polling booths.
Speaking to the media persons in Patna, Jaiswal said the BJP first congratulated the Election Commission of India for conducting the Special Intensive Revision of the voter list in a fair and timely manner.
"We have suggested the deployment of central paramilitary forces in villages dominated by backward, extremely backward, and Dalit communities. Their flag march in such areas will help instil confidence among voters. We also requested the deployment of horse-mounted brigades in the Diara, Taal, and embankment areas to prevent booth capturing," Jaiswal said.
The BJP leader further pointed out issues faced in the last election.
"There were complaints that voter slips were not distributed on time. This time, we have appealed for timely distribution, along with text message alerts and webcasting one or two days before polling. We also demanded CCTV surveillance at all polling stations," he added.
Jaiswal said the BJP urged the Commission to conduct polling in one or two phases to reduce the expenses of candidates and ease the administrative burden.
Security of voters was also a key demand.
According to Jaiswal, the CEC stressed the importance of collecting Form 17C, which contains the account of votes recorded.
"The CEC pointed out that sometimes polling agents of parties leave before polling ends and later level allegations. He has specially requested all parties to ensure their agents collect Form 17C before leaving the polling station," Jaiswal said.
He also quoted the CEC as saying that once the Model Code of Conduct is imposed, at least 28 days are required before polling can be held.
"We have urged him to fix the election dates soon after this mandatory period," Jaiswal added.
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