The district administration is getting ready to conduct elections to the North East Teachers Constituency of the Legislative Council which is scheduled to be held on October 28.
Addressing a media conference at his office here on Monday, Regional Commissioner (Kalaburagi Division) and Returning Officer N.V. Prasad said that there were 26,242 teachers eligible for voting as on Monday.
“We would set up 147 polling stations in the constituency which is spread across six districts of Kalyana Karnataka region,” he said.
Speaking on the precautions to be taken in view of COVID-19, Mr. Prasad said that all norms and guidelines laid down by the Election Commission of India would be strictly followed.
Asked about large sections of teachers remaining outside the electoral rolls, Mr. Prasad said that consistent persuasion had resulted in the addition of over 6,000 voters in the electoral rolls.
“We have been continuously persuading teachers to add their names in the electoral rolls. Despite the best efforts from our staff, many eligible teachers have not applied for inclusion of their names in the electoral rolls. If eligible teachers are facing problems in getting their names included in the electoral rolls, they should lodge complaints with the authorities concerned,” he said.
As per the calendar of events, the notification was issued on October 1, bringing the Model Code of Conduct into effect.
“The last date for filing nomination papers is October 8 and scrutiny would be held the next day. Candidates are allowed to withdraw their nomination papers before October 12. Polling would be held between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. on October 28. Counting of votes would be taken up on November 2,” Mr. Prasad said.
The officer said that the Deputy Commissioners of Bidar, Kalaburagi, Yadgir, Raichur, Koppal and Ballari would serve as Assistant Returning Officers. And, teams had been formed under the leadership of the Deputy Commissioners and Superintendents of Police in each district to curb election malpractices and to ensure the enforcement of model code.
“Candidates and political parties are required to take prior permission from the Deputy Commissioners in their districts to hold any meeting and for campaigning,” he said.
