Haryana Chief Electoral Officer holds meeting with political parties

Chandigarh, March 19

Haryana Chief Electoral Officer Anurag Agarwal has called upon all 1,98,29,675 voters of the state to exercise their franchise on May 25 and become a part of “Chunav Ka Parv, Desh Ka Garv” as it is essential for voters to participate in democracy. Agarwal said this while addressing a meeting of representatives of recognised national and state political parties here.

He said it was mandatory for the candidates contesting the elections and political parties to adhere to the model code of conduct. As soon as candidates submit their nomination papers, the calculation of their election expenses will begin, and candidates will have to provide a separate account statement. The security deposit for candidates of the general category will be Rs 25,000, and for candidates of the Scheduled Caste, it will be Rs 12,500, he said.

Agarwal said while filing the nomination papers, candidates contesting elections would have to fill Form 26 as an affidavit, which must be verified by a notary or a Class I Magistrate. On the day of elections, in a vehicle, maximum 5 persons will be allowed, including the driver. Deputy Commissioners-cum District Electoral officers will designate locations for election rallies, said the Chief Electoral Officer.

He said the Election Commission had prepared some mobile applications, including Voter Helpline, cVigil, Voter Turnout, and Know Your Candidate. A total of 19,812 polling stations will be established in the state, where all basic facilities will be available.

On this occasion, representatives from political parties, including Varinder Garg from the BJP, Talwinder Singh and RD Saini from the Congress, Veenus Malik from the AAP, Ram Narayan Yadav from the JJP, and Satyavrat from the INLD, attended the meeting.