The Election Commission designates special observers in each state, refuting misinformation that is being spread

To guarantee fair competition in the next elections, the Election Commission on Tuesday designated special observers for monitoring, security, and administrative duties in a number of states.

According to the poll panel, the special observers—former civil officers with an impressive track record—have been entrusted with careful oversight of the voting process, especially in light of the difficulties presented by the impact of money, force, and disinformation.

According to the poll authorities, special observers (general and police) have been sent to West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Bihar—all states with populations of over seven crore—as well as Andhra Pradesh and Odisha, where simultaneous elections for assemblies are scheduled to take place.

It said that Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, and Odisha have also been assigned Special Expenditure Observers.

The EC has started placing special observers in states holding elections in addition to general, spending, and police monitors.

According to the poll panel, special observers will set up shop in the state capitol and, if necessary, travel to the regions where a high level of sensitivity and cooperation is needed.

When needed, they may sometimes ask the observers stationed in the districts, assembly seats, and parliamentary constituencies for the required inputs without interrupting their job.

Additionally, they are required to consult with regional heads and nodal officials of different agencies participating in monitoring efforts and to collaborate with them.

The special observers will pay particular attention to border regions, try to stop the flow of inducements, and gather feedback on how to address public issues.

In order to guarantee free and fair elections, they also have to monitor the last 72 hours before to the vote and respond quickly to any false narratives that may arise.

Former IPS member Vivek Dubey has been sent as a police special observer in Bihar, while retired IAS Manjit Singh has been assigned as a general special observer.

Maharashtra’s police special observer is N K Mishra, a former IPS officer, and the general special observer is Dharmendra S. Gangwar, a retired IAS.

In Uttar Pradesh, the police special observer is Manmohan Singh, a former IPS officer, while the general special observer is retired IAS official Ajay V Nayak.

In a similar vein, in Andhra Pradesh, retired IAS official Ram Mohan Mishra serves as the general special observer, while former Delhi Police IPS member Deepak Mishra serves as the police special observer.

For Odisha, retired IPS Rajnikant Mishra and former IAS officer Yogendra Tripathi have been named as general and police special observers, respectively.

Former IAS Alok Sinha is the general special observer in West Bengal, while retired IPS Anil Kumar Sharma is the police special observer.

Rajesh Tuteja in Uttar Pradesh, Himalini Kashyap in Odisha, B Murali Kumar in Karnataka, Neena Nigam in Andhra Pradesh, and B R Balakrishnan in Tamil Nadu are the special expenditure observers for the five states. They’re all former officials of the Indian Revenue Service.

From April 19 to June 1, there will be seven phases of the Lok Sabha elections. On June 4, there will be a vote count.