PNS|Vijayawada
Andhra Pradesh Chief Electoral Officer, Mukesh Kumar Meena, announced that the information concerning the changes in voters’ list will be shared with political parties at the constituency level on a weekly basis. He urged political parties to utilise this opportunity to ensure the accuracy of the voters’ list.
A meeting was held at the Chief Electoral office on Thursday, with various recognised political parties, to discuss the revision of the voters’ list. During the meeting, Meena apprised the political parties of the instructions issued regarding the resolution of voter registration applications, the role of Booth Level Officers (BLOs), and the steps to be taken by Electoral Registration Officers (EROs). He further stated that the EROs would provide the list of claims and objections to the political parties at the constituency level every week, with the same information being uploaded on the CEO’s website.
Meena also provided details of the revised schedule for special voters, which commences on January 1, 2024. The house-to-house verification will be conducted by BLOs starting from July 21. Information collected during the survey will be updated in the BLO app. Booth level agents are permitted to accompany BLOs during door-to-door surveys. The schedule of door-to-door visits will be shared with political parties at the district level. Formal sharing of existing information with political party representatives will be done by BLOs on July 21, and rationalization of polling stations will follow the completion of the house-to-house verification process.
Regarding any issues related to polling stations, Mukesh Kumar Meena clarified that political parties can bring them to the notice of the District Election Officer, who will then forward the proposals to the CEO. The Integrated Draft Electoral Rolls will be published on October 17, and claims and objections will be received until November 30. The final voter lists will be published on January 5, 2024.
The meeting witnessed the participation of political party representatives, including V Hemant Kumar (BJP), Y Venkateswara Rao, J Jayaram (CPM), V Gurunatham, V Srinivasa Rao (Congress), Varla Ramaiah, Koneru Suresh (TDP), and ANN Murthy (YSRCP).
The political parties made several suggestions during the meeting concerning the revision of the voters’ list.
The TDP requested that volunteers should not be present during the BLO inspection, and Meena clarified that guidelines in this regard were already in place.
The Congress representatives emphasised that only permanent employees should be appointed as BLOs and not temporary employees, in adherence to the rules of the Election Commission.
The CPM requested that complete information regarding the voters’ list should be provided in Telugu, to which Meena assured that the request would be duly considered.
