Only ‘able-bodied’ officials for ZP election duty

Gadchiroli: The Gadchiroli district administration have decided fitness would be the deciding criteria for selecting officials for the poll parties, especially in the remote localities, during the forthcoming civic election of Zilla Parishad on February 16 and 21.
The decision to include only physically fit and tougher ones for the poll duties in the interior of the naxal-affected district has been undertaken with the view to ensure that they do not turn into a sitting duck for the rebels to target as their routine strategy to disrupt the democratic process.
With the view to hand-pick physically fit officials, the Gadchiroli district administration has sought special permission from the state election commission to modify the system of ‘restricted randomization of manpower’ for selecting the poll officials allowing them to ‘customize’ the search vis-à-vis the naxal threat.
The naxalites, by distributing pamphlets on the Etapalli-Gatta road, have already made their threats known to the local masses. Apart from appealing the tribal to shun the election, the Naxalites have also targeted district guardian minister Raje Ambrishrao Atram in their pamphlets.
Though District collector, Gadchiroli, ASR Naik still wants to question the authenticity of the Naxal threat to the ZP election, he seemed to be taking no chances to thwart the rebels’ attempts to target a struggling polling party with one of its members either sick or incapable to meet the stressful expectations of the election duty.
Naik said the age group of 35-40 years would be preferred with no previous history of any serious ailment so that one can cope with the demanding duty to conduct the poll. “The state election commission has already agreed to our proposal to customize the search for manpower instead of a random one like in other districts but we are waiting for the formal nod,” said Naik. He referred to the positive outcomes of the meeting of the State election commission and police department at his office on Monday this week. “Sending a physically weak or sick person in the polling party would only make the whole team vulnerable from attacks,” he said.
Apart from security forces, the district administration now also seemed to have started working on its own strategies. Naik claimed that his administration has decided to adopt numbers of measures to ensure the election is success including training of the manpower to help in on-line filling of the nominations and also campaigning in local tribal dialects like Gondi and Madia to encourage them to vote. “We are furnishing the lists of the outlets and manpower to the political parties who can help their candidates to file on-line nominations,” said the collector.