New Delhi, 18 March (H.S.):

The Election Commission of India has deployed over 25 lakh election officials for the upcoming assembly elections in five states and one Union Territory, setting up a workforce that effectively assigns roughly one election functionary to every 70 eligible voters. The Commission said that the 17.4 crore voters covered under these polls will be supported by this large‑scale ground‑level machinery to ensure smooth, peaceful and orderly polling.

The force of 25 lakh+ personnel includes around 15 lakh polling staff, 8.5 lakh security personnel, 40,000 counting staff, 49,000 micro‑observers, 21,000 sector officers, 15,000 micro‑observers for counting and several other supervisory and monitoring officials. This layered deployment is designed to cover the full spectrum of the election process—from booth‑level management and security to vote counting and oversight of expenditure and campaign conduct.

At the grassroots level, more than 21 lakh Booth Level Officers (BLOs) are part of the electoral setup, supplemented by digital tools such as the EC‑INET app and voter helpline services. Through this app, voters can book phone calls to their BLO and receive on‑spot assistance on registration, polling‑day logistics and related queries.

A dedicated toll‑free call‑centre number, +91 (STD code) 1950, has also been put in place for District Election Officers (DEOs) and Returning Officers (ROs) to record and address complaints or queries, further strengthening the grievance‑redressal mechanism.

Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar has already directed officials to discharge their duties with complete fairness, stressing that elections should be free from violence and inducements. He reiterated that every voter must be able to cast a ballot without fear, intimidation or bias, underscoring the Commission’s focus on a “free, fair and fear‑free” election.

In previous general and by‑elections, the Commission had deployed 1,111 central observers across 832 assembly segments for monitoring, including 557 general observers, 188 police observers and 366 expenditure observers. This experience has informed the current, more intensive deployment, as the Commission gears up for high‑stake assembly polls in Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Puducherry, alongside by‑elections in several other states.

---------------

Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar