Koppal district administration is gearing up to conduct the Lok Sabha elections scheduled for May 7, said Deputy Commissioner of Koppal and District Election Officer Nalin Atul.
Addressing a media conference at his office there on Sunday, a day after the Election Commission of India (ECI) announced the Lok Sabha election schedule, Mr. Atul said that the constituency has 18,51,700 voters spread over five Assembly constituencies in Koppal district, two Assembly constituencies in Raichur district and one Assembly constituency in Ballari district.
Koppal Lok Sabha constituency has eight Assembly segments spread over three districts: Kushtagi, Kanakagiri, Gangavati, Yelburga and Koppal in Koppal district, Sindhanur and Maski segments in Raichur district and Sirguppa segment in Ballari district.
“We have 18,51,700 voters in Koppal Lok Sabha constituency. There are 46,162 young voters, 46,162 disabled voters, 12,900 old voters (85 years and above) and 609 service voters,” Mr. Atul said and added that old and COVID-19 patients will be allowed to exercise their franchise from their residences as per the directions of the ECI.
As per information he shared, Koppal will go to the polls on May 7. The notification will be issued on April 12. The last date for filing nomination papers is April 19. Scrutiny of nomination papers will be done on April 20 and the last date for withdrawing nomination papers is April 22. Voting will be held on May 7 and vote-counting will be held on June 4.
Poll code
Mr. Atul said that he has formed 47 flying squads and 27 video surveillance squads, established 32 check-posts and appointed 168 sector officers to ensure the strict enforcement of the Model Code of Conduct and conduct free and fair elections.
“The Koppal Zilla Panchayat Chief Executive Officer has been appointed as a nodal officer for the enforcement of the code of conducted for Koppal segment. The Executive Officers of the Taluk Panchayat will serve as nodal officers in their respective Assembly segments,” Mr. Atul said.
Police deployment
Superintendent of Police Yashodha Vantagodi said that the constituency will require 2,200 personnel to ensure peaceful, free and fair elections.
“At present, we have only 715 personnel in the district. Additional personnel will be brought from outside and deployed. We have formed special teams to check the spread of fake news on social media. Directions have already been issued to police personnel to intensify vigilance to ensure that no untoward incident takes place during the election process,” she said.
Additional Deputy Commissioner Savitri B. Kadi, Koppal Assistant Commissioner Captain Mahesh Kumar Malagatti, Tahsildars D. Manjunath and other senior officers were present.
