Tight security in UP ahead of 6th phase

New Delhi: The Election Commission (EC) is taking no chances for the upcoming sixth phase of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections.

The next round of polling - which starts on May 3 - is to be held in the naxal-infested eastern Uttar Pradesh area and the EC has decided to deploy additional security.

Principal Secretary, Home, K Chandramauli told news agency PTI that six companies of Central Para-military forces had already been deployed in the naxal-hit Chandauli and Sonebhadra districts to ensure free, fair and fearless polling.

Extra forces would also be deployed keeping in view the boycott call given by naxalite outfits, he was further quoted by PTI as saying.

Joint Chief Electoral Officer Kamini Chauhan told PTI that the Election Commission was determined to create an atmosphere in which voters could exercise their franchise freely and fearlessly, she said.

The Commission had already undertaken mapping of areas and identified the places which were prone to naxalite violence, Chauhan said.

The CPMF would be staging flag marches to instill confidence among the electorate, she was further quoted as saying.

(With inputs from PTI)