Mechanism in place for smooth conduct of DDC polls: SEC

STATE TIMES NEWS

Jammu: Jammu and Kashmir State Election Commissioner (SEC) K K Sharma on Wednesday said that elaborate measures have been undertaken for the smooth conduct of District Development Council (DDC) elections and Panchayat bypolls in the Union Territory.
Sharma was interacting with the representatives of different political parties including the BJP, Congress, National Conference, Peoples Democratic Party and Bahujan Samaj Party here.
The maiden DDC polls along with by-elections for panchayats and Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) are being held in eight phases in Jammu and Kashmir, beginning on November 8.
On the arrangements being made to ensure smooth and hassle-free conduct of elections, the SEC said a foolproof mechanism has been put in place, besides ensuring synergized coordination between different departments involved in the process.
Responding to the demands and suggestions of the political parties, Sharma assured them that these would be looked into and redressed properly. He said the parties should also actively participate in the elections which would go a long way in further strengthening the democratic setup, besides taking governance to the district and grassroot level across the union territory.
Meanwhile, the SEC along with Jammu and Kashmir Chief Electoral Officer Hirdesh Kumar launched the Systematic Voter Education and Voter Participation (SVEEP) activities in view of the upcoming polls.
Sharma said the main purpose behind initiating SVEEP is to sensitise voters regarding the importance of their vote and inspire them to exercise their franchise in a non-partisan and idealistic manner.
“SVEEP activities have also been going on earlier as well but now with the assistance of NGOs, student community, youth clubs and other partners of government, semi-government departments and other institutions, the activities will be run in full steam at central as well as at district level,” he said.
On the day of launch, Sharma released six radio jingles in Kashmiri, Dogri, and Hindi on the electronic medium with the motive to raise awareness among the masses, the spokesman said.