Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, Dec 1: The Election Commission of India has put in place multiple surveillance network for around 4000 polling stations in remaining four phases of ongoing Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir in order to ensure highest level of transparency and fairness besides to check complaints of political parties and candidates.
Official sources told EXCELSIOR that Election Commission of India in consultation with the Chief Electoral Officer of Jammu and Kashmir has devised multiple surveillance network for around 4000 polling stations in order to make the electoral process more transparent.
Under this mechanism, webcasting of 850 polling stations falling in the categories of critical, sensitive and hypersensitive would be conducted while as in 1200 polling stations of similar categories where webcasting is not possible, video-recording facility would be made available to capture various events during the polling days.
“Webcasting is an endeavor to make the election process more transparent and showcasing the arrangements at polling stations to the general public”, sources said, adding “this is also an attempt to contain the complaints of political parties and candidates about impersonation and bogus voting etc”.
Through the websites of the Election Commission and Chief Electoral Officer of J&K anyone can locate the polling station and watch the proceedings through live telecast. “This is being done at around 850 polling stations falling in the categories of critical, sensitive and hypersensitive where either there have been past reports of violence and impersonation or these polling stations face criticality in the wake of intense election campaigning”, sources added.
They informed that some urban polling booths have also been included in this list to facilitate urban voters to see the queues and arrangements at polling stations. In Jammu district, 32 polling stations would be having webcasting facility while as in Kathua there would be 97 such polling stations. Eighteen polling stations in Udhampur, 12 in Reasi, 40 in Rajouri, 30 in Poonch, 25 in Kulgam, 38 in Anantnag, 41 in Baramulla and 29 in Shopian would also be covered through webcasting.
In order to maintain hawk’s eye on the activities in similar polling stations where webcasting is not possible, the Election Commission has decided to make use of video cameras for complete recording of the proceedings. The number of such polling stations is around 1200 where camera equipped election staffers would record the polling process.
In case of any complaint or report, the video recording would be made available to the concerned persons to ascertain the genuineness of the complaint. “The objective behind this is to ensure free and fair polls and at the same time to contain the bogus complaints which often spoil the time of election machinery in the wake of series of complaints by political parties and candidates”, sources said.
Such video recordings would be made available by Election Commission for scrutiny of political parties or candidates and will be under supervision of observers. According to the available information, the video-recording would be conducted in 32 polling stations in Udhampur, 45 Jammu, 139 Kathua, 12 Reasi, 40 Rajouri, 32 Poonch , 48 Srinagar, 14 Budgam and 38 in Anantnag. Provision of making use of digital cameras has also been kept in the mechanism, sources further said.
They informed that Election Commission has also deployed micro-observers in sensitive and hypersensitive polling stations and they would report minute-to-minute proceedings to District Election Officers and Observers concerned. In such a way, they would act as eyes and ears of the Commission.
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