Though the final voters’ list was published on January 30, names can be enrolled till March 25, Chief Electoral Officer Teeka Ram Meena has said.
After reviewing the election arrangements at Thrissur Collectorate on Wednesday, Mr. Meena said the names can be enrolled online. A supplementary list will be published after including the new voters, he added.
So far, four lakh applications have been received to be enrolled into the voters’ list. He asked the Collector to finalise the list by March 25. “The model code of conduct came into force on March 9.
Political parties should conduct campaigns adhering to the guidelines. Stringent action will be initiated in case of violation of rules,” he said.
So far 31,590 posters and banners, which violated the guidelines, have been removed in Thrissur.
According to the model code of conduct, no campaign should be conducted in the name of religion, caste, church, or temple. Ministers should not use official vehicles or guest houses for attending private functions or party programmes.
Sensitive booths
There were 1,200 sensitive booths in the State. The Thrissur district had 24 such booths. The maximum number of sensitive booths were in Kannur and the maximum number of paramilitary forces would be deployed in Kannur, he said.
“The State has received 35 companies of paramilitary forces. As Kannur, Kozhikode, Palakkad, Malappuram, and Wayand districts face terrorist threat, more forces have been demanded,” Mr. Meena said.
Income Tax, Customs, Excise, Sales Tax, and police teams would conduct joint operations to check the use of hawala money and drugs during poll campaigns.
The Malappuram district has maximum number of young voters. Thrissur has second place. There are 2,61,000 voters in the age group of 18-19. About 46% of the voters are in the age group of 35 and 50. Voters above 80 years of age constitute 5% of the electorate. In all, 119 transgender voters are in the State.
Mr. Meena flagged off the SVEEP (Systematic Voters’ Education and Electoral Participation) vehicle from the Collectorate on Wednesday morning.