Thiruvananthapuram: There are 396 booths classified as critical and 3,058 booths categorized as sensitive polling booths across the state. The figures have been finalized by the election commission (EC) in consultation with the state police and the district administrations for providing appropriate security.
The majority of the booths classified as critical (264, which is 67% of the total critical booths) are located in areas flagged as Left Wing Extremism (LWE) affected areas in Wayanad, Malappuram, Palakkad, Kannur and Kozhikode rural.
Polling stations where polling percentage recorded last time was over 75% and where more than 75% votes have been recorded in favour of one candidate are considered critical. Polling stations where re-polls were conducted in the previous election due to reported electoral malpractices, and those that witnessed any electoral violence are also a criterion for categorizing them as critical.
Booths located in places where incidents of violence, or clashes between political parties have been reported in the recent past, are classified as sensitive booths. Police have deployed 354 patrolling units in vulnerable areas. These are places where voters are vulnerable to threats or intimidation, causing hindrance in free and fair elections.
A special focus is being given to 53 booths classified as “inaccessible booths”. They are booths with no motorable roads, those which are water-locked, etc.
In order to ensure fool-proof communication systems in all booths for effective coordination and enforcement, the police this time would use satellite phones in “black out” areas, where the wireless communication network cannot be operated. Besides police’s communication network, the signal unit of central reserve police force (CRPF) has set up its repeater station at the special armed police (SAP) battalion in the capital, which will be the hub of the communication system for the 140 central armed police force (CAPF) battalions, including one company of women CRPF, deployed across the state. This time, EC has ensured that if any CAPF member suffers injury in connection with the elections, they will be provided cashless treatment at the nearest super-speciality hospital.
Besides CAPF, 34,504 state police personnel and 24,788 special police officers (that includes ex-service men, former student police cadets, etc) are part of the security network. The police have sealed 152 points along the state borders vulnerable to illegal movements of people and contrabands from and to the neighbouring states.
In addition to the manpower deployment, the state police will utilize drones for surveillance on election day. Its use proves highly effective during the lockdown period, when police used them for surveillance especially in interior areas. Police are collaborating with drone associations to check for unauthorized gatherings or other illegal activities on election day.