AP CEO Satisfied With Smooth Polling
The Andhra Pradesh Chief Electoral Officer said that he was satisfied with polling in the state. The fact that polling was on in 600 booths polling at 8:15 pm was a sign of a successful election, he said. Dwivedi pointed out in a conversation to Sakshi TV that at 6 PM the polling was 74% all over the state.
There were 25 violent incidents mainly in Rayalaseema, the CEO added. It would touch 80% finally, he predicted.
Dwivedi observed that the Election Commission of India will take a final decision on repoll whenever it is needed, be it Maoist affected areas or other places.
On the issue of EVMs he said that 1-3% replacement of EVMs is considered normal and in the case of polling today the need for replacement was well within the normal limits. To a certain extent staff may have been inadequate in places where violent incidents have taken place, but cases have been booked, Dwivedi pointed out.
The CEO added that complaints have been forwarded to collectors and returning officers. They should scrutinise complaints in the presence of observers and micro-observers, and records including CCTV footage and visuals and send a report tomorrow which will be forwarded to the Election Commission of India.
