Assembly polls in Pondy, TN will be held simultaneously: CEC

Puducherry Feb 12 (PTI): Chief Election CommissionerSunil Arora said here on Friday the Assembly polls due in thenext few months would be held simultaneously in Puducherryand Tamil Nadu.

He was addressing reporters here before ending his two-day visit, along with a team from the Election Commission, tothe Union Territory to review its pollpreparedness.

Asked about voting rights of members nominated to theTerritorial Assembly, he said the Supreme Court had in 2018ordered such members had voting rights.

He read out the provisions for nomination of members inthe Union Territory Act and from the extracts of the apexcourt judgement on voting rights for nominatedlegislators.

Arora said he and his team have had discussions with theofficials of various departments such as the enforcementdepartments and state-level bankers committee, among others.

''It was a fruitful meeting,'' he said.

The Chief Election Commissioner further said thecommission would ensure free, fair, inducement-free andCOVID-19-safe elections.

He said there would be zero tolerance to misuse of moneypower and illegal distribution of freebies and otherinducements to voters.

He said the number of polling booths would be increasedfrom 952 to 1,564 in the Union Territory.

The election official said it was also insisted at themeeting that no polling station should be above theground-level as the aged and physically challenged voters shouldface no difficulty.

He released a booklet on SVEEP (systematic voters educationand electoral participation) and also flagged off a vehicleto highlight the chief features of SVEEP.