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One security personnel for every
329 people during Gujarat polls

Of the 100,000 security personnel, the state police would contribute 70,000 personnel with the rest coming from the State Reserve Police force, the Central Reserve Police Force and the Rapid Action Force, they said.

The state has an electorate of 3.29 crore people.

With the department gearing up to conduct free, fair and peaceful elections to the 182-member assembly, one security personnel would be made available for every 329 people in the state, they said.

Chief Election Commissioner J M Lyngdoh has directed the state election office to increase security during polls in view of the post-Godhra communal disturbances.

Sources in the election office at Gandhinagar said that the assembly poll and the by-election to the Mehsana Lok Sabha seat would cost the state exchequer over Rs 400 million (Rs 40 crore).

The by-election to the Mehsana seat was necessitated by the death of sitting Congress MP Atmaram Patel in July this year.

The electorate, which showed an increase of 500,000 since the last assembly poll held on March three, 1998, would exercise their franchise in 38,000 polling booths during the day-long poll on December 12.

Following the visit of the Chief Election Commissioner and his two colleagues in August to review the situation for conducting elections in the state, the EC had ordered special revision of the electoral rolls with January one, 2002 as the qualifying date in riot-affected areas.

Approximately 175,000 persons, trained to handle electronic voting machines (EVMs), would man the booths, which would be well-equipped with effective communication systems, the sources said.

More than 45,000 EVMs would be pressed into service on the polling day while another 5,000 EVMs would be kept on standby duty.

The process of transporting the EVMs from Uttar Pradesh has already begun and the machines would reach the state by the first week of November, the sources said.

PTI

Gujarat Elections 2002: The complete coverage

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