Paramilitary at every Majitha booth for repoll

CHANDIGARH: After courting a row over widespread failure of voter verified paper audit trail (VVPAT) machines at Majitha constituency on February 4, a cautious Election Commission (EC) on Wednesday deployed

paramilitary forces

outside all booths for Thursday’s repoll. Forty-eight polling stations, including 16 for the

Amritsar Lok Sabha

, seat will see polling again.

According to EC deployment, a full section of Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) troops will guard each of the 16 booths in Majitha. A full section means eight CAPF troops, while half section means four troops. “We don’t want to leave anything to chance now. We have ensured a level playing field for all parties now,” said Punjab chief electoral officer (CEO) V K Singh.

Additionally, three IPS officers led by 2014-batch cop Gaurav Toora will also move around the booths. Each patrolling car of surveillance has been given two wireless sets. “It’s like a garrison town now,” said an Amritsar poll officer.

EC has also handpicked many officers of the rank of sub-divisional magistrates (SDMs) and additional district magistrates (ADMs) from varied backgrounds to oversee the process. Majitha is one of the star constituencies in Punjab where Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) supremo Sukhbir Singh Badal’s brother-in-law Bikram Singh Majithia, Himmat Singh Shergill of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Congress candidate Sukhjinder Raj Singh Lalli Majithia have locked horns. Voters will cast their ballots again on Thursday because the much-touted VVPAT machines malfunctioned in Majitha, hampering the election process.