Anantnag, April 12: The nominations for the 3-Anantnag Rajouri parliamentary seat commenced on Friday which will go on polls on May 7.
Syeed Fakhrudin Hamid, Returning Officer (RO) of the Anantnag-Rajouri parliamentary seat on Friday held a press conference and invited the candidates to submit their forms to the RO or Assistant Returning Officer (ARO) from April 12 upto April 19th 3 pm.
The RO said that in the third phase, the Anantnag Rajouri seat will undergo polls. Five districts constitute this constituency – Anantang, Kulgam, Shopian’s Zainapora, Rajouri, and Poonch.
“In Anantnag, there are seven constituencies, three each in Kulgam and Pounch, one in Shopian, and four in Rajouri. In total, there are 18 constituencies in this parliamentary seat,” the Returning Officer said.
He said that there are more than 18 lakh voters in this parliamentary constituency, with 2338 polling stations set up across the parliamentary seat.
“The nomination process began on Friday. I am informing prospective candidates that they can submit their nominations from April 12 to April 19, 2024, by 3 pm. The scrutiny date, as decided by the ECI, is April 20, and the last date for withdrawal of candidature is April 22. The polling day is May 7,” he said.
He also said that arrangements for security and basic facilities at polling stations have been made. Assured Minimum Facility (AMF) polling station-wise has been completed.
“Training for political party representatives has also been conducted as there are strict guidelines from the ECI regarding managing expenditure, for which two workshops have already been held. Dos and don’ts have already been imparted among the media and other teams,” he said.
He added that monitoring mechanisms, such as Flying Squads, Static Surveillance Teams (SSTs), and Video Viewing teams, have been constituted in every district, and daily reports are received from them.
“To ensure maximum voter turnout, SVEEP teams in every district are holding programs to inform voters about the importance of voting and how it will be expedited. There is also an application called ‘C Vigil’ where any citizen who wants to report violations of election norms can lodge complaints online,” he said.
The Returning Officer said that citizens should cooperate and contribute to holding ethical, free, and fair elections.
“The RO control room is operational 24/7. Anyone needing help with using applications or other guidance can reach out to the control room. Also, media control rooms have been set up to ensure free and fair elections,” he added.
