New Delhi, February 24 In an effort to improve transparency, the Election Commission has ordered that from now on, the random assignment of state police personnel to polling stations on election day will be carried out in the presence of central police observers deployed in the constituencies.
Randomly assigning police personnel on election duty ensures neutrality, with local police being deployed outside their current station areas to avoid any bias.
In a letter to state chief electoral officers and Director Generals of Police on Monday, the EC stated that for all future Lok Sabha and state assembly elections, "The random assignment of state police personnel deployed at the polling station on the day of the poll shall be done in the presence of police observers deployed for the constituencies in that district."
An official said that district superintendents of police carry out the random assignment of state police personnel. "They will continue to do so. But now the exercise will be carried out in the presence of police observers," the official said.
Assembly elections are likely to take place in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Assam, and West Bengal in April, and the new procedure will be implemented in these states.
Besides state police and state armed police, central forces are also deployed during elections to maintain law and order, protect polling stations, ensure the safety of vulnerable voters, and secure EVM strong rooms.
The EC said that these new directions should be brought to the notice of all district election officers, SPs, police commissioners, returning officers, and sector officers.
