Mokokchung, February 16 (MTNews): The Election Commission has said that nearly 40% of polling stations in Nagaland are ‘critical,’ while 22% of polling stations in Tripura and nearly 34% in Meghalaya are ‘vulnerable’ to intimidation, IANS reported.
According to the report, identifying both ‘vulnerable’ and ‘critical’ polling stations is critical to ensuring free and fair elections in any state.
In EC parlance, ‘critical’ polling stations are areas with high political stakes in terms of vote share and margins of victory in previous elections, where polling was more than 90% and more than 75% of votes were cast in favor of one candidate in the previous election.
These also include polling stations where electoral violence or malpractice was reported during the previous election.
In the context of elections, ‘vulnerability’ refers to the “susceptibility of any voter or section of voters” to being “wrongfully prevented from or influenced in relation to the exercise of his right to vote” in a free and fair manner, via “intimidation or use of undue influence or force” of any kind on them.
According to the EC, Nagaland has 680 vulnerable polling stations out of a total of 2,315 polling stations, while the number of critical polling stations has decreased from 1,100 in 2018 to 924 in 2023.
The EC machinery maps such polling stations in advance to counter the threat of money, muscle power, and voter intimidation, particularly from the weaker sections of society in elections. The goal is to install enough security measures at these polling places to ensure that everyone is free to vote without fear of being attacked. These polling stations are identified by the local administration and police in accordance with EC regulations and are closely monitored by the poll panel.