“Plan being set out to conduct free and fair elections”: J&K DGP ahead of LS polls

Pulwama (Jammu and Kashmir) [India], March 11 (ANI): The Director General of Police in Jammu and Kashmir, RR Swain, said on Monday that the Election Commission of India (ECI) is on a visit to Jammu and Kashmir to take stock of the preparations and that a plan is being set out to conduct free and fair elections in the union territory.

The Jammu and Kashmir DGP opened up about the preparations for the ensuing Lok Sabha elections and said, “We are fully prepared for the elections. ECI is on a visit to JK to take stock of the preparations. We are making a plan to ensure free and fair elections.”

“The plan will be foolproof, and the aim is to help the voter, candidate or campaigner carry out the elections freely and without any obstacles,” said the official.

The Election Commission held a briefing here in the national capital on Monday for all its observers for the general election to the Lok Sabha and the general election to legislative assemblies in 2024.

The aim of the meeting for over 2000 observers is to streamline strategy to ensure that the model code is implemented during the elections.

The observers will monitor polls to ensure the process is “free and fair.”

These police, general and expenditure observers are drawn from services such as IAS, IPS, IRS and other allied services.

Meanwhile, the Election Commission will be on its last visit to Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday to assess when polls can be held in the Union Territory and the dates for the Lok Sabha elections are likely to be revealed immediately after that.

“Once the assessment is complete and the visit ends on Wednesday, the commission may announce the dates for the Lok Sabha elections. ECI has earlier visited Kolkata, Lucknow, Patna, Chennai, and Bhubaneshwar and held meetings with regional parties and top government officials to assess the poll preparedness of states,” sources said.

Earlier on March 6, a team of officials from the Election Commission of India held a review meeting with all District Election Officers (DEOs), Commissioner of Police, Guwahati City, Superintendents of Police (SPs), DIGs and other senior officials to assess the poll preparedness in the state ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, 2024 at a meeting held at a city hotel in Guwahati.

The Lok Sabha polls are expected to be held sometime between April and May this year.