Addressing mediapersons after meeting leaders from different political parties and confabulating with State's top bureacrats, Chief Election Commissioner N Gopalswami said that like in Uttar Pradesh and other places where security forces from outside the State were used to ensure peaceful and fair elections, security personnel from other states would be deployed on poll duty in the State.

Asked if the polling booths would also be handed over to the `outside' security personnel, he said that EC would do whatever was necessary for a free and fair poll.

He said these decisions were taken on apprehensions expressed by political parties on the role of Gujarat police. He said that political parties had demanded that Gujarat police be kept away from elections as free and fair elections were not possible under them due to their `'questionable'' role during 2002 elections.

Though the electoral code of conduct has not yet come into force as elections were yet to be announced, the announcement of EC that outside security forces would be used for election purposes in Gujarat seemed to have put cold water on the plans of the ruling political junta in the State. A perusal of the list of the transferred police officials recently suggest that they enjoyed proximity with the ruling party politicians and their transfers and posting on the eve of elections were done with a view to seeking favour during elections.

Accopanied by two election commissioners Syed Yaqub Qureishi and Naveen Chawla, Gopalswami, however, did not give an exact date as to when the elections would be held. However, he said that the term of the present Aassembly would expire on December 25 and elections to the State assembly were required to be held before that.