Dera Baba Nanak MC elections: Poll observer Dr Senu Duggal holds meeting with officials

Election observer Dr Senu Duggal on Thursday reached here and held a review meeting with officials relating to the Dera Baba Nanak municipal committee elections slated to be held on March 2.

She told officials that the elections should be held in a free, fair and transparent manner. The rules and regulations of the State Election Commission (SEC) should be followed in letter and spirit, she said.

Duggal said any complaint, received from any party, related to the violation of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) should be taken seriously “and there should be no laxity on the part of officials conducting the polls”.

She urged the Gurdaspur district administration to ensure that women and weaker sections of society could exercise their franchise in a free and fair manner.

The last date of filing nominations is February 20 and the scrutiny of nominations will be done on February 21. Voting will be held on March 2 and the counting of votes will be held on the same day.

Deputy Commissioner (DC)-cum-District Election Officer (DEO) Uma Shankar Gupta assured Senu Duggal that the MCC will be strictly followed.

There are a total of 13 wards. Out of a total of 7,812 voters, 3,992 are male voters while 3,820 are female voters. Uma Shankar Gupta said the first rehearsal of the polling parties will be held on February 22 followed by the second rehearsal on February 27. “The district administration is fully committed towards holding transparent polls as per the instructions of the State Election Commission,” he said.

He said proper security arrangements had been made. “The polls will be held in a peaceful manner. No untoward incident will be tolerated,” he said.