DW BUREAU / Chandigarh

Voters exercising their franchise in Punjab during the Lok Sabha polls will be offered sweetened water in polling stations as part of the election office's effort to increase turnout. Punjab Chief Electoral Officer Sibin C on Tuesday said a target has been set to achieve a voter turnout of more than 70 per cent.

Polling for Punjab's 13 Lok Sabha seats will be held on June 1.

The state election office will also make efforts to increase the voting percentage in those areas where turnout was low in previous elections. Punjab's voting percentage during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections was 65.96 per cent.

Sibin told reporters that the Model Code of Conduct will be implemented in letter and spirit to ensure free and fair elections in the state. Elaborate efforts have been undertaken to prevent the use of muscle and money power during the polls, he said. Sibin also said 25 companies of paramilitary forces have been deployed in Punjab and added that additional deployment will be made.

He reiterated that efforts will be made to increase voting percentage in the state.

Parliamentary polls normally register a turnout of around 65 per cent in Punjab that rises to more than 70 per cent during assembly elections, he said.

"This time, we have set a target of voting percentage of more than 70 per cent," Sibin said and coined the slogan "Iss baar, 70 paar".

The chief electoral officer said since the elections will be held during the peak summer, arrangements will be made to provide refreshments to the voters.

"We will make arrangements for 'chhabeel (sweetened water)', there will be shades. There will be many facilities for voters so that our voting percentage increases," he said. Sibin said there are 12 districts in the state where the polling percentage in 2019 was lower than the national average of 66 per cent. In around 12,000 polling stations, the turnout in 2019 was lower than the national and the state averages.

The official said a robust seizure management system has been implemented, resulting in seizures of Rs 113.45 crore since March 1. Sibin said there are around four lakh arms licences in the state and directions have been issued to deposit the arms ahead of the polls.

The official also announced that 2,416 of the state's 24,433 polling stations have been identified as "critical", warranting additional security measures. The maximum number of "critical" polling stations are in Amritsar with 578.

CCTVs and a centralised monitoring system will be implemented across all polling stations, he added.

Sibin said 119 complaints have been received via C-Vigil, with 86 being addressed. CCTV cameras have been installed at inter-state checkpoints and flying squads equipped with necessary tools deployed.

District election officers-cum-deputy commissioners have been directed to ensure drinking water, toilets, signages, ramps/wheelchairs, helpdesks, voter facilitation centres, sufficient lighting and shed facilities at polling stations, Sibin said. As on March 1, Punjab had 2,12,71,246 (2.12 crore) voters, he said.

Efforts have been made to purify the electoral rolls by deleting similar demographic and photographic entries during the special summary revision to prevent duplications. Regular meetings have been held with political parties at every stage of the electoral rolls update, providing them with opportunities to raise objections, Sibin said. The official said 24,433 wall writings, 15,653 posters, 7,511 banners and 23,916 defacements of property were removed across the state from March 16 to 18.
(editor@dailyworld.in)