OUR CORRESPONDENT
MANGALDAI: Darrang Deputy Commissioner Dilip Kumar Borah, in his role as the District Election Officer (DEO) of Mangaldai Election District, on Thursday held a discussion on preparations for counting day on May 2 with the agents of candidates contesting the Legislative Assembly poll.
Chairing the meet at the conference hall of the DC office, DEO Borah urged the agents of the contesting candidates to adhere by the guidelines of the Election Commission of India (ECI) so that the entire counting process could be carried out and completed in a free, fair and safe manner, while emphasizing the safety angle over the second wave of coronavirus spread in the State.
DEO Dilip Kumar Borah further asked the agents present to co-operate with the district administration and the district election machinery in the counting process, so that the counting process could be carried out without any glitch and hiccups.
Borah expressed confidence that with harmony between the agents and the election machinery, Mangaldai election district would be hailed as a 'role model' as far as the conduct of elections to the Assam Legislative Assembly 2021 is concerned.
Briefing the agents, Additional Deputy Commissioner (Health) Panchami Choudhury appealed to the political parties and the candidates to make sure that they keep the recent spike in coronavirus spread in mind on the counting day, including asking the party supporters to refrain from forming a crowd to celebrate victory. She also elaborately detailed the various safety measures the ECI has outlined, considering the pandemic in mind.
Additional Deputy Commissioner (Election) Pankaj Deka spoke about the various intricacies related to counting of votes through the Postal Ballot system and the Electronic Voting Machines, among others, while assuring the political parties of no laxity on the part of the district election machinery in counting of votes.
The agents present also made some suggestions to the DEO, based on their previous experience. The DEO assured them of all help in dealing with their queries.
Apart from DEO Dilip Kumar Borah, Additional Deputy Commissioners Panchami Choudhury, Pankaj Deka and Vijay Bhaskar Reddy, the agents, the meeting was also attended by Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Zila Parishad, Ramen Chandra Malakar, District Development Commissioner Subhalaxmi Deka and the Circle Officers.