Mangaluru: The District Administration is all set for the forthcoming Gram Panchayat elections, said Deputy Commissioner A B Ibrahim in a meeting held at the DC’s Office here, on May 26.
DC Ibrahim said that 229 election officers and 249 assistant election officers have been trained to conduct the elections smoothly. According to the state Election Commission, election campaigns will be banned from May 27, 7 am.
“We have appointed 5412 staff, out of which 2324 are men and 3088 are women. 50% of them are from the Mangaluru and Bantwal taluks, and will be posted at 1212 polling booths. All the staff have been trained and prepared to conduct the elections smoothly. We have also planned to provide transport for all the staff. 582 vehicles will be utilized for transportation of staff on duty during the election, which include 269 Tata Sumos, 105 Tempo travels, 20 mini bus and 188 buses.”
“On May 25, an all political party leaders meeting was held and we have received many complaints. In the name of particular party, violations of the code of conduct have been noticed and that party is said to be conducting aggressive campaigning. We have received complaints of violations of the election code of conduct on May 24 and May 25. We have called the candidates, questioned and warned them.”
“On May 26, we have again received complaints that some candidates have distributed pamphlets with photos of political leaders not involved in the election, which is against the election code of conduct. We will take strict action against such candidates. So far the district administration, has received 12 complaints of violations of election code of conduct.”