Revealing that he proposed to install electronic voting machines in some polling booths, he said elaborate arrangements were being made for the elections to be held in the next couple of months.

In an informal talk with Express Newsline on Wednesday, Dholakia said that though the elections to 54 municipalities of different districts -- including Dabhoi and Padra in Vadodara -- were scheduled to be held in December, 1999, he was already holding meetings with officials to ensure free and fair polls.

According to Dholakia, following his meetings with the district collectors and superintendents of police in the districts, he would call on the higher authorities at Gandhinagar to ensure the proposal of setting up of electronic voting machines.

He said that while notification for the 54 bodies' electoral revision would be out soon, the same would be declared for six municipal corporations of the State by middle of 2000 and for about 1000 other bodies like gram panchayats, taluka panchayats and zilla panchayats, by end of the 2000 AD.