Coimbatore: The district administration has received 85 election-related complaints since the model code of conduct came into force in the state and set up a control room at the collectorate to handle the same.
Collector K Rajamani on Tuesday said only 15 complaints were received from political parties regarding poll code violations like distribution of cash and gifts. The remaining complaints, he said, were from the public, seeking clarifications on election-related doubts. “We have addressed most of the complaints.”
Requesting both the public and political parties to register their election-related grievances without any hesitation, the collector said the same would be addressed at the earliest. “We have set up the control room at the collectorate to exclusively handle poll-related issues. People could reach us at 1800-425-4757 and 1950,” he said.
The district administration, along with the police department, has identified 788 sensitive polling stations spread across 112 locations. According to Rajamani, most of the sensitive polling stations are in the city corporation limits and they were classified so based on the 2016 assembly poll and the 2019 parliamentary election situation. “Polling stations with a large number of voters have also been considered sensitive. The list will be revised if we identify more polling stations that are prone to report law and order issues.”
The collector said three flying squads and a static surveillance team have been stationed at each of the assembly constituencies and they would work in three shifts to impose model code of conduct strictly. “Nodal officers have also been deployed to monitor them.”
Rajamani said posters and banners of political parties were removed from most of the places in the district and directions were issued to remove the remaining materials at the earliest. This time, ballot voting is extended to the people aged above 80 years, disabled people and Covid-19 patients. To avail the facility, people would have to submit applications before March 16. The district has 64,680 voters aged above 80 years and another 20,000 who are disabled people.