Chief Election Commissioner Bhanwar Lal on Tuesday said the Centre had been asked to provide 139 companies of paramilitary forces for security arrangements for the byelections scheduled in June.
Speaking to mediapersons, the CEO said besides the central forces, the state special police and district police would also be utilised. The election authorities are in the process of identifying the sensitive and hypersensitive polling stations and the final requirement of forces would be arrived at after the end of nomination process, he added.
Mr Bhanwar Lal had earlier reviewed the preparedness of the election authorities with the district collectors and superintendents of police of the 12 districts in which bypolls would be held through video conference. The CEO said mandal level teams would be constituted to oversee the implementation of the model code. To a question, he said there were not many complaints of code violation till now.
Mr Bhanwar Lal said five mobile numbers would soon be announced to which whistle blowers could send SMS to tip-off the EC on code violations. “The response teams will arrive at the location within five to ten minutes,” he said. Referring to the Telugu Desam lodging a complaint with the EC on local officials “showing bias” towards YSR Congress president Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy in Tirupati, the CEO said a report from the collector would be obtained in this regard.