LS Elections-2024: 538 parties dispatched to 4 ACs of Rajouri district

• 389721 voters; 202809 males,186905 female & 7 transgenders.
• Out of 542 polling stations 278 fall in sensitive category.
•  5 villages in Rajouri situated between fence & LoC
•  Polling stations at Sair & Makri under direct shelling range.
•  45 polling stations fall in border areas.
•  Counting center for Rajouri-Poonch ACS made in PG College Rajouri

Shyam Sood

Rajouri, May 24: District Election Officer (Deputy Commissioner) Rajouri, Om Parkash Bhagat personally supervised the dispatch process of the 538 polling parties along with polling material to different polling stations for 4 Assembly Constituencies (ACS) of Rajouri district.
It is pertinent to mention here that out of 5 ACs of Rajouri district, 4-including Rajouri, Budhal, Thanamandi and Nowshera- have been clubbed with newly carved out 3-Anantnag-Poonch-Rajouri Lok Sabha seat by the Delimitation Commission while 5th constituency namely Kala remained with Jammu seat.
Amidst tight security, the polling staff and other logistics left from their respective dispatch centres marking a crucial step in the polling process for Lok Sabha Elections 2024 in the Rajouri, Thanamandi, Nowshera and Budhal Assembly Constituencies.
District Election Officer, Om Prakash Bhagat personally supervised the dispatch process, marking a significant logistical feat of the district administration, security personnel, and election officials.
“To ensure the safety and security of the polling parties and the polling material, stringent security measures have been put in place. Deployment of adequate security personnel will ensure a secure environment for the polling parties to carry out their duties without any hindrance, said DEO, OM Parkash Bhagat.
The 4 Assembly Constituencies have 389721 voters, including 202809 males, 186905 females and 7 transgenders. Of the total of 542 polling stations, 278 have been identified as sensitive.
“In Rajouri district 45 polling stations are situated along Line of Control (LoC) while two polling stations situated in Sair & Makri (In Nowshera) villages are under direct shelling range and nearby bunkers have been prepared as alternate polling stations in case of any emergency/mishap,” said Om Parkash Bhagat.
He added that in Rajouri district five villages are situated between LoC and Fence and in case of any mishap, bullet proof vehicles of Army, Police & CRPF have been kept at standby to shift the electorates.
In Rajouri district two polling stations situated in Kotchalwal area in Budhal constituency are situated in far-flung areas and polling parties have to cover 6 km distance on foot to reach there while for 71 polling stations parties have to cover around 1 km distance on foot.
Later, the DEO, Om Parkash Bhagat along with Additional DC Nowshera, Babu Ram Tandon reviewed the election preparations in Nowshera subdivision.
The visit of the DEO encompassed multiple polling stations. Among the notable highlights of the visit was the inspection of the pink polling station at Nowshera, staffed exclusively by women.
The DEO meticulously reviewed the preparations undertaken thus far and provided directives to the election staff to ensure the smooth, free, and fair conduct of elections across the district.