Date:18/01/2004 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2004/01/18/stories/2004011802220400.htm

Andhra Pradesh

Officials foresee no poll notification before March 23

By Our Special Correspondent

HYDERABAD, JAN. 17. Election officials in the State are not expecting any notification by the Election Commission either for the State Assembly or for the simultaneous polls covering the Lok Sabha until the exercise of summary revision of rolls ends all over the country on March 23 when Uttar Pradesh publishes its final list.

However, officials are anticipating election schedule any day after the Lok Sabha is dissolved. Seeing simultaneous polls as a distinct possibility, officials have placed fresh indents with the commission for supply of 73,000 electronic voting machines (EVMs) as the State's requirement for elections at a time for the Assembly and the Lok Sabha will be 1,40,000 EVMs, including 25 per cent as reserve. The State has about 67,000 EVMs now.

The EVMs will be installed at the rate of two in each of the 56,033 polling stations in the State -- one for the Assembly and the other for the Lok Sabha -- according to the Chief Electoral Officer, M. Narayana Rao.

Meanwhile, the data on revision of rolls will be made public by Monday. Those affected by the revision can go in appeal before the District Election Officer after publication of the final list on January 20.