The Election Commission of India (ECI) has published the notification for the Lok Sabha elections to be held in the third phase. According to this, filing nomination papers for the 26 Lok Sabha seats and five assembly seats for the bye polls in Gujarat will begin today.

Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) P Bharathi announced that notices have been published for the elections in 26 Lok Sabha constituencies and bye elections in Vijapur, Porbandar, Manavadar, Khambhat, and Waghodia assembly seats.

Candidates can now file their nomination papers from today until Apr 19, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., except for public holidays, and withdraw their nominations on Apr 22 by 3 p.m. if they wish.

The scrutiny of nomination papers will take place on Apr 20 at 11 a.m.

The first randomisation process for electronic voting machines (EVMs) has also been concluded in the presence of representatives of political parties in all districts of the state.

Provision for voters

For the 4.19 lakh voters over 85 years of age and 3.75 lakh voters constituting more than 40% disability, arrangements will be made to cast their votes from home, and they will be provided with form 12D and the necessary documents.

To facilitate voting, postal ballots will be available for election duty employees, including police officers, drivers, conductors, and approximately 4 lakh others, who must fill out form 12 for postal ballot papers.

Tight vigilance by the electoral department

A total of 27 general observers, 28 expenditure observers, and 14 police observers have been appointed for the election.

With the publication of the election notification, 1,203 static surveillance teams have been deployed across the state.

756 flying squads have been operational in the state to monitor and control election expenditures. They have seized goods worth ₹86.82 cr, including cash worth ₹6.54 cr, 3.84 lakh litres of liquor worth ₹11.73 cr, gold and silver worth ₹27.62 cr, illegal drugs worth ₹1.73 cr, and other items worth ₹39.20 cr.

1,615 complaints have been received regarding the violation of the model code of conduct (MCC) on the c-VIGIL mobile app from Mar 16 to Apr 10. According to the ECI guidelines, immediate action has been taken over all these complaints.

Additionally, a total of 8,319 complaints have been registered on the National Grievance Services Portal from the same tenure, including 6,087 complaints related to EPIC (Elector’s Photo Identity Card), 574 related to voter lists, 138 related to voter slips, and 1,520 others.

Furthermore, 99 complaints have been received through the helpline number of the control room operating under the CEO’s office.

435 complaints have been received by post and email at the electoral offices, including 18 related to the media, 9 related to political parties, 34 related to the Election Commission, and 374 others.

1,64,984 political advertising materials, including posters, banners, and advertisements, have been cleared from government properties and 60,737 of the same from private properties, in compliance with the MCC rules.

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