Fully prepared for 2024 Parliamentary, Assembly elections in Odisha, says Chief Election Commissioner

Bhubaneswar (Odisha) [India], February 17 : Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar said on Saturday that it is fully prepared to conduct the 2024 Parliamentary and state assembly elections, simultaneously in Odisha.
"We are fully prepared to conduct 2024 Parliamentary elections and state assembly elections. Every preparation is almost complete. I request all voters to come and participate in the festival of democracy, whether youths, women, or those staying in inaccessible areas," Kumar said addressing a press conference.
Speaking about the meeting with political parties in Odisha, the CEC said that several political parties have raised the apprehension that the state government machinery is not neutral and a "level-playing field" should be established.
"They raised the demand to ensure that we maintain the neutrality of the government machinery. Many parties stated that the administration is perceived to be not neutral. They favour the party in power. Therefore the level-playing field should be established," Kumar said.
"There was also an apprehension that the facilities and the entitlements that are given to the political parties like grounds, vehicles and loudspeakers are not provided equally," he added.
Speaking about violence reported in the last assembly elections in Odisha, the CEC stated that the administration should ensure that incidents of violence are checked in the state.
"Administration was not alive to check violence. There was violence in the last elections in certain areas. So the administration should be energised to ensure that violence does not take place," he said.
Some raised the issue that government vehicles and ambulances were used to carry regular things, including cash, the CEC stated adding that some parties also complained that government buildings and PSUs are also being used for political purposes.
Political parties have also requested to ensure that all EVMs are sealed and the exact number of votes polled be shared with the candidates, Kumar said.
"They requested to ensure that all EVMs are sealed before everyone, to provide security to all warehouses by the central forces along with the state police. They also asked to furnish the exact number of votes received after voting concludes under Form 17C to all candidates to ensure transparency," the CEC said.
The political parties also raised the issue that some candidates run newspapers and so there should be adequate checks on paid news.
"One of the advertisements by a political party had a symbol, which was a misuse of public funds," Kumar said citing an allegation by a political party.
The Election Commission said that feedback from political parties is important as they play an important role in elections.
"The feedback from political parties are important, as they are important stakeholders...they are the second interface between the voter and the Commission," Kumar said.
The CEC informed that the Vidhan Sabha elections in Odisha will end by June 24, 2024 and the Parliamentary elections will end by June 16.
There are 147 assembly constituencies in Odisha, out of which 33 are ST constituencies, Kumar said.
"In Parliamentary elections, out of 31 constituencies, 13 are General, 3 are SC and 5 for STs, second highest after Jharkhand," Kumar added.
Sharing the demographic profile of voters, the CEC said, "There are 3.32 crore voters across the state of which male voters are 1.68 and 1.64 female voters. We have 3380 third-gender voters as well, 6.8 lakh very senior citizens. 9060 voters are more than 100 years old."
"In 50 per cent of polling stations, there will be webcasting facility. Out of 37809, polling stations, there will be webcasting arrangements on 22,685 polling stations. The direct feed will be seen by our people in the control room so that in case of any wrongdoing, immediate action can be taken," he said.
Kumar said that 300 polling stations will be manned by persons with disabilities. Moreover, 700 booths will be managed by young employees who have been recruited recently.
"Person with disabilities, youth and women will be kept as key focus. To ensure that there will be 300 polling stations which will be managed by persons with disabilities. Our staff will manage them. There are 700 booths which will be managed by young employees who have been recruited recently. So a young person who goes to vote will get a sense of involvement and empowerment," the CEC said.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) got the maximum number of seats followed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress. The BJD won 12 seats, the BJP bagged 8 and the Congress won one seat.
The BJD swept the state in the 2019 Assembly elections, winning 113 seats in the 2019 elections held simultaneously with the general elections. The BJP came a distant second with 23 seats, followed by the Congress with 9, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) with 1 and an Independent candidate bagging another seat.