Garhwal Post Bureau
Dehradun, 22 Jul: Election Commission of India’s Election Commissioner Vivek Joshi was in Dehradun to hold a comprehensive review meeting today. The review was aimed at assessing the ongoing electoral preparedness in Uttarakhand. During the meeting, Chief Electoral Officer, Uttarakhand, Dr BVRC Purushottam presented a detailed report encompassing various aspects of electoral administration in the state.
Joshi underlined the urgency of finalising the appointment of Booth Level Officers (BLOs) in alignment with the Commission’s directives. He stressed that polling stations having more than 1,200 registered voters, as well as those situated over two kilometres from the nearest accessible point, should be subjected to physical verification at the earliest. He insisted that any reallocation or establishment of new polling booths necessitated by these verifications must be completed in a timely and efficient manner. Furthermore, he reiterated the importance of strict adherence to all standard guidelines issued regularly by the Election Commission to ensure free and fair elections.
Chief Electoral Officer Dr Purushottam shared that the appointment process for new BLOs across the state has already been completed in accordance with the Commission’s instructions. He further announced that training programmes for District Election Officers (DEOs), Electoral Registration Officers (EROs), BLO Supervisors, BLOs, and Booth Level Agents (BLAs) are scheduled to be conducted during the months of August and September at the state level to enhance their readiness.
Purushottam also provided a demographic breakdown of the state’s electorate, stating that Uttarakhand currently has approximately 85 lakh registered voters, comprising 44 lakh male voters, 41 lakh female voters, and 304 voters belonging to the third gender. Among these, around 1.64 lakh are young voters, nearly 84,000 are voters with disabilities (PWD), and approximately 21,000 are service voters.
The CEO added that political parties across the state are in the process of appointing Booth Level Agents, which is progressing steadily. In compliance with updated guidelines from the Commission, physical verification has already been carried out at polling stations having more than 1,200 voters and at those where electors have to walk more than two kilometres. As a result of this verification exercise, approximately 1,000 new polling booths are currently being established to improve access and reduce voter inconvenience.
In addition to logistical preparations, Purushottam further shared that under the Systematic Voters’ Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP) programme, the local cultural festival of Harela is being integrated with voter awareness campaigns. As part of this initiative, a mass plantation drive has been launched at polling stations and various other locations across the state to coincide with the festival. Moreover, a theme-based calendar outlining SVEEP activities for the entire year has been prepared to maintain continuous voter engagement.
Also present during the meeting were Additional Chief Electoral Officer Vijay Kumar Jogdande, Assistant Chief Electoral Officer Mastu Das, and Doiwala Electoral Registration Officer Aparna Doundhiyal.
