THE JHARKHAND STORY NETWORK
Daltonganj, Oct 21: Booth-Level Officers (BLOs), who are lackadaisical to the passion and intensity of the election are being fine-tuned into deliverance, said Daltonganj assembly constituency Returning Officer Sulochana Meena.
There are 426 polling stations in the Daltonganj assembly constituency. Each booth has one BLO.
Meena said, “I know 30 per cent of the fleet of the BLOs just dither. We are trying to spur them to act fast and proper.”
Addressing reverse migration ahead of polling
Sulochana Meena said, “the polling in Palamu is November 13, around five or six days after the Chhath Puja. We understand there will be a massive reverse migration of workers and students who are eligible voters. Our effort is to make these people of reverse migration stay put till the day of polling at their respective locations.”
The Returning Officer concedes the task is big and challenging but “I and my team will ensure all goes well.”
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Focusing on critical and vulnerable polling booths
On being asked about critical booths in the Daltonganj assembly constituency, Sulochana Meena said “Vulnerable mapping is on. We have identified booths having less than 50 per cent of voting and those which are in descending order.”
The Returning Officer referred to 55 booths that fall in the Garhwa district but are an integral part of the Daltonganj assembly constituency. These 55 booths are in the Bhandarya and Bargar blocks of Garhwa district.
These two blocks Bhandarya and Bargar had a long subjugation to the Maoists who had the Burha Pahar under their command for more than a decade. It was only in 2022 that Burha Pahar was liberated and the Maoists were rendered spaceless by the security forces. “Our focus is on these booths” added the Returning Officer.
Engaging youth and overcoming urban apathy
On urban apathy or youth apathy, Sulochana Meena said, “This is to be overcome. There are college-going students studying outside Palamu / Jharkhand. We expect them to be with their families here either during Diwali or Chhath Puja. If they are here we will motivate them to cast votes.”
The Returning Officer further said, “We have BAGs (Booth Awareness Group) which is a conglomeration of more than a dozen people drawn from both the genders as well as from NSS / NYK etc. These BAGs will be further activated for maximum of polling.”
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