Andhra CEO directs election officials to ensure smooth conduct of counting of votes

Amaravati, June 2 (PTI) Andhra Pradesh Chief Electoral Officer Mukesh Kumar Meena on Sunday directed District Electoral Officers (DEO) to make necessary arrangements to ensure smooth vote counting on June 4.

The CEO held a video conference with DEOs to take stock of the arrangements.

"If anybody tries to create trouble at the vote counting centres, they should be expelled without hesitation and acted upon sternly according to the law," said Meena in a press release.

After the counting of votes, he said the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) should be sealed and secured while the election result-declaring Form 21 C and Form 21 E should be dispatched to the Election Commission by the next day.

Meanwhile, Andhra Pradesh Police department is leaving no stone unturned to ensure a peaceful election results day, especially in the wake of post-poll violence at some places in the southern state.

Several districts held mock drills to deal with exigencies in case they arise on June 4.

Security has been beefed up at the residences of Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, TDP supremo N Chandrababu Naidu and the party office of TDP in Mangalagiri and YSRCP in Tadepalli.

Kurnool district superintendent of police G Krishnakanth said in a press release that 2,000 policemen will provide security on the vote counting day while CrPC Section 144 will be clamped down at the Rayalaseema University counting centre.

M Ravi Prakash, who has been appointed as the special officer for Eluru Range to monitor vote counting called on people to go about in a peaceful manner.

In Bapatla district, police held a meeting with counting agents on how to conduct themselves and briefed them on the election rules.

Similar security measures have been put in place across the state in all the districts for June 4.

Earlier, the Election Commission decided to deploy 20 companies of CAPF in the state to deal with any exigency on the election results day.

Meena said that CrPC Section 144 will be imposed for as long as required while DGP Harish Kumar Gupta noted that 'dry days' could last for three days from June 4.

Andhra Pradesh went to polls on May 13 for 25 Lok Sabha and 175 Assembly seats. PTI STH ROH