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Puducherry District Collector A. Kulothungan on Tuesday said preparations for the upcoming Assembly elections began nearly six months in advance, with polling personnel, resources and polling stations already identified to ensure smooth conduct of the electoral process.
Speaking to ANI, Kulothungan said adequate arrangements and training have been provided to election staff, and they are ready for the elections. He also informed that scrutiny is going on today, and the list of final candidates will be known after the withdrawal date. "For the Puducherry Assembly election, the preparedness starts six months earlier. We have identified the polling personnel and resources. We have selected polling stations. Proper training has been given to the polling personnel. We are ready for the elections. The nomination started on 16 March and ended on 23 March. Scrutiny is going on today. The list of final candidates will be known after the withdrawal date, i.e., 26 March," said Kulothungan. Earlier, the Election Commission of India (ECI) on Tuesday also held inter-state border meetings to review poll preparedness and strengthen coordination ahead of the upcoming General Elections in Assam, Kerala, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal, as well as bye-elections in six states. The meeting brought together Chief Secretaries, Chief Electoral Officers (CEOs), Directors General of Police (DGPs), and senior officials from the five poll-going states and their twelve neighbouring states, along with heads of central enforcement agencies. Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, along with Election Commissioners S.S. Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, reviewed the law-and-order situation, poll readiness, expenditure enforcement, and seizures of illegal cash, liquor, narcotics, arms, and other items in sensitive constituencies. According to the schedule announced by the Election Commission of India, voting in Puducherry will take place on April 9, and polling in West Bengal will be conducted in two phases on April 23 and April 29. Kerala and Assam will vote in a single phase on April 9, while Tamil Nadu will go to the polls on April 23. The counting of votes for all four states and Puducherry will be held on May 4, the ECI announced. (ANI)
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