With Assam heading for Assembly elections on April 9, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has asked voters to come out and vote without fear. The Commission said all steps are being taken to ensure a safe and peaceful polling process across the state.In the run-up to the polls, the ECI held an online review and training meeting with senior officials from across Assam. District Election Officers (DEOs), Superintendents of Police (SPs), and other administrative and police officials took part in the meeting. The focus was on reviewing law and order, polling arrangements, and overall preparedness.Earlier, Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar had stressed that the election process must remain free from violence, pressure, and unfair influence. He said voters should be able to take part in the election without fear and in a peaceful environment.
During the meeting, officials reviewed preparations at the district level. This included checking facilities at polling stations, arrangements for Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), deployment of polling staff, and steps taken to create awareness among voters. Law and order arrangements were also discussed in detail.The Commission issued clear directions to ensure transparency during voting. Presiding Officers have been told to give signed copies of Form 17C, which contains details of votes recorded, to polling agents after voting ends. They have also been instructed to update voter turnout data on the ECINET app every two hours and once again at the end of polling.
Officials were asked to make sure that Voter Information Slips reach voters at least five days before polling. Voter guides will also be distributed to households. Special arrangements, including Braille-enabled slips, will be made for visually impaired voters so that they can vote independently.The ECI also directed that permissions for campaign-related activities, submitted through the Suvidha portal, must be cleared within 24 hours. These approvals will be given on a first-come, first-served basis, with full fairness.