Daijiworld Media Network - Bangalore (SP)

Bangalore, Mar 24: State Chief Election Officer M N Vidyashankar divulged that he has been receiving around four to five complaints every day about the government employees participating in electioneering for particular political parties. Orders have been issued, asking the guilty officials to be suspended with immediate effect, he said.

In response to a query made during the interaction programme organized by the Reporters Union and Press Club here jointly on Monday March 23, he said that the district election officers have been asked to suspend the employees as soon as such violations are detected. He also added, that in seven cases, assistant returning officers transferred by the Election Commission, have secured caveats from the courts. The Commission is taking steps to get the caveats vacated, he informed.

He also revealed that the first general election of the country held in the year 1951 cost the exchequer an amount of Rs 10.2 crore, while the 15th Lok Sabha election will involve an expenditure of about Rs 10,000 crore. Out of this, the Election Commission will incur expenditure to the tune of about Rs 1,800 crore. This is in spite of the fact that use of 8,500 metric tonnes of paper has been averted with the use of electronic voting machines, he pointed out.