EC to UP govt: Act quickly against jailbirds

Varanasi, Apr 26 (UNI) Taking serious note of delay in action against jailbirds likely to influence remaining phases of polling in Uttar Pradesh, Election Commission will tommorrow ask the state government for speedy action on shifting the identified criminals to other jails.

''EC is committed to holding free and fair assembly poll in the remaining three phases also and will ask the UP government to act promptly on shifting to other jails those jailbirds, who are likely to influence poll process,'' Chief Election Commissioner N Gopalaswami told mediapersons here this evening.

The CEC was in the city to review poll preparation in nine districts, where election will be held during the sixth and penultimate phase on May 3.

''District police chiefs have identified certain jailed criminals who are likely to influence poll in the district concerned and have also recommended to the state government for their transfer to jails in other districts. The EC will ask the UP government tomorrow to act quickly on these pending recommendations,'' he informed.

Mr Gopalaswami said. ''The EC is hopeful of holding free and fair elections in the 57 seats that go to the polls on May 3. The requisite administrative and security arrangements are being made in the districts that go to the polls in the penultimate phase, especially the Naxal hit three east UP districts of Chandauli, Mirzapur and Sonebhadra.'' Expressing satisfaction oner poll preparations in the three Naxal-hit districts, the CEC said, ''If necessary aerial surveillance will be ensured for free and fair poll in the districts concerned.'' Over the cases of surrogate ads by political parties, the CEC said, ''in a case where the surrogate ad amounted to a personal attack on others, an FIR has been lodged. In other cases of surrogate ads the State Chief Electoral Officer has been asked to hold investigations.'' A separate list of 85 lakh voters who have not left their native places but migrated to other places for occupational reasons has been prepared. The total number of such voters account for 7.5 per cent of total 11.43 crore voters in the state. The percentage of these voters in some constituencies is as high as 20 per cent,'' Mr Gopalaswami said.

The separate list has been prepared to prevent bogus voting in the name of these migrated voters who have shifted to other places.

If the figure of migrated voters is subtracted from total voters in the state, the percentage voter turnout which is presently projected as low will in true terms be high not low, he maintained.

He further said names of at least 50 lakh voters who have either died or left their constituencies permanently have been struck off from the voter list.

UNI