Assembly election 2023 in 5 states tussle begins, EC held press conference

The election commission of India, the constitutional body responsible for conducting and regulating free and fair elections in India, for both state and national level, has announced the detailed schedule, code of conduct and the latest changes in the upcoming assembly elections in five states in the press conference held at noon. Elections are due next month and the struggle for the seats will be witnessed in Mizoram, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana and Chhattisgarh with increased level of vigilance and watch throughout the election process.

The Political battle with rallies and war of rhetoric have already set the stage for the democratic festive since the polls tend to reveal the flow for the general assembly elections which are due in 2024. The Election Commission chief, Rajiv Kumar, with the announcement of election schedule has also revealed the data revolving around the constituencies, sex ratio, first time voters, polling personnel and various other crucial steps in making the process as transparent as possible. The conference did not ended in the form of monologue since various journalists from different media houses were provided with the opportunity to put up the questions related to the polls, action against the defaulters and previous data on handling with such issues and the scope of improvement so far. As per the EC approximately 1/6^th of the population will be going through the election process which is not only crucial for the residents of the state but also for the entire nation. In the span of forty days the team visited all the five states and conducted survey and held discussion with various Political parties and enforcement agencies of both central and state level, including, Income tax, Narcotics, RBI, Banks, Coastal guards, civil aviation, RPF, GRP, state police etc and trued to include the suggestions and feedbacks from them.

The date of poll for Mizoram will be on 7^th of November followed by the counting day on 3^rd December. In Chhattisgarh where the polls will be held in two phases, date is decided for 7^th and 17^th November followed by the 3^rd November the day of counting. Rajasthan has settled for 23^rd of November whereas Telangana for 30^th November.

In order to advance better participation in all the states the EC has tried to include every group that suffers negligence or has the history of poor participation as compared to the mainstream population, including the Youth, Transgender, Women, Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups, Person with disabilities and senior citizens. The EC briefed the journey of bringing them from roll to poll and ensured various other facilities for such groups like washrooms, safety, assisting personals, ramps, proper illumination etc. From going to the last mile in the remotest areas to adding around 60.2 lakh first time voters in the enrolment list, the EC highlight the contributions of the personals and team.

With the elections lined up, EC has become more alert on the issues pertaining to freebies and has come up the provision of tighter security especially at the borders where EC has ordered for the coordinated efforts from the officials at 490+ chekposts coming under the inter-state borders. In addition to this the EC has also come with the other safety and vigil methods where they have tried to digitalize the entire process of complaining against the abusers and defaulters. By bringing up the cVigil App to report any such incidents or by enhancing the election seizure management system, the body has tried to include the citizens at every level. The body has ensure action in 100minutuews for every reporting. New changes are also going to be witnessed in the standard practice of postal ballot where the postal ballot will be available only at the facilitation centers.

The Assembly elections of these five states prior to the national elections will serve as the testing pitch for the Election Commission of India for all the new changes that they have come forward with.            With increased level of accountability and transparency through the digital initiatives and other inclusive methods, the EC is not only hopeful in successfully achieving the goal of creating the procedure voter friendly but also a high voter turnout with increased participation from the least privileged and marginalized section of the society.