In this year’s Lok Sabha elections 2019, 90 lakh voters from Bengaluru will decide the fate of 78 candidates who will fight for 3 constituencies. Around 90.83 lakh voters will cast their vote on April 18 in 1,651 locations at 8,500 polling booths across the metro city.
Booth Level Officers To Distribute Voters’ Slips From April 5 Onwards
According to reports, the booth level officers will start distributing the voters’ slips from April 5 onwards. These slips will also carry the photographs of the voters as well as an information brochure/voter’s guide.
The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) Commissioner who is also the District Election Officer of the city, N. Manjunath Prasad revealed details about the voters.
Manjunath said that out of the total number of voters eligible for voting, 43.48 lakh are women, 47.33 lakh are men whereas 1,540 belong to another gender.
He further added, “The guide has information for all voters, such as who is eligible to vote, how to cast the vote, how to locate the polling station where one has to cast their vote, etc. Booth level officials have been directed to distribute the slips and guides to voters by April 11.”
As per the reports, 31 candidates are fighting from the Bengaluru North constituency, 25 from the Bengaluru South constituency and 22 from the Bengaluru Central Constituency.
Manjunath Prasad further added, “Given the number of candidates, we will have to use two ballot units in each polling booth. One unit can accommodate 16 candidates. Additional ballot units have been allotted for the Bengaluru North and South constituencies from other districts. Units required for Bengaluru Central constituency are coming from other States.”
More Than 40,000 Poll Personnel To Serve Three Constituencies
Manjunath Prasad stated that the three constituencies in Bengaluru will require around 45,000 poll personnel and 12,000 police personnel. The first round training for these personnel has already been completed. They will be conducting the second round of training on April 11.
Out of the total polling stations, 156 are considered vulnerable whereas 1,600 polling booths are critical. That is why the security in these stations have to be strengthened.
According to Manjunath Prasad, they will be deploying 1,200 micro observers in the critical polling stations. Around 400 critical polling stations will be provided with webcasting facility and videographing during this Lok Sabha Elections 2019. The team has already started preparing for the same.
Ola-Tie Up To Ensure Maximum Voting By Disabled Voters
In this Lok Sabha Elections 2019, the election commission has made a tie-up with the taxi aggregator Ola to ensure that the disabled voters can easily reach the polling stations. The District Election Officer said that a person with a disability can call helpline number 1950 for availing this facility.
These voters will be then given a coupon and a phone number. On the day of voting, they can call and fix timing for the cab which will come and pick up the voter and even drop the voters at home. Incidentally, Ola has offered to provide this service as their Corporate Social Responsibility.
Although no negotiations or decision has been made on this, in the case, the proposal does not come from Ola, the election commission will bear all the expenses.
This year the polling booths will also provide ramps for running the wheelchairs which will be available at all the polling stations in Bengaluru.
