The fate of 143 candidates in poll fray at 11 Assembly constituencies in Mysuru district will be sealed in the electronic voting machines (EVMs) on Wednesday, May 10, as Karnataka is going for elections from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Elaborate arrangements are in place for conducting a free and fair elections and the Mysuru district administration has appealed to the voters to exercise their franchise without coming under any fear, influence or pressure.
“By casting your valuable vote on Wednesday, you are celebrating the Festival of Democracy. Let everyone celebrate the polling day as the Festival of Democracy by casting their vote without fail,” said Deputy Commissioner and District Election Officer K.V. Rajendra.
On the poll eve, former international cricketer Javagal Srinath, who is Mysuru’s SVEEP icon, said in a message: “I am going to vote tomorrow. You too vote without fail, for building a strong society on the occasion of Festival of Democracy.”
Reported to mustering centers
Officials and staff deployed for the election work reported to their respective mustering centers in all 11 constituencies on Tuesday morning and collected the election-related materials, including EVMs (control units and ballot units), VVPAT machines, indelible ink vials, seals and stationary items before leaving to their respective polling stations.
As many as 3,156 presiding officers, 3,250 assistant presiding officers, and 6,352 polling offices have been appointed for conducting the election. All of them had been trained in two sessions for conducting the elections. About 600 Central government officers have been drawn as micro-observers.
In total, 5,620 ballot units, 3,936 control units and 4,266 VVPAT machines are being used in the district. On the EC’s direction, 22 ECIL engineers from Hyderabad have arrived as maintenance support.
Vehicles for poll staff
A total of 431 KSRTC buses, 84 mini buses and 29 multi-utility vehicles have been roped in for ferrying the poll staff and security personnel to the booths.
The district has a total of 26,55,998 voters, including 13,17,121 men, 13,38,637 women and 230 others, who are eligible to cast their vote in 2,905 polling booths in 11 constituencies – Chamundeshwari, Varuna, Krishnaraja, Chamaraja, Narasimharaja, Hunsur, K.R. Nagar, H.D. Kote, Periyapatna, Nanjangud and T. Narsipur.
Varuna and Narasimharaja have the highest number of candidates with 17 candidates each.
Deputy Commissioner and District Election Officer K.V. Rajendra gave details on the preparations done for the elections at a press conference here on Tuesday, May 9. Police Commissioner B. Ramesh, Superintendent of Police Seema Latkar and ZP CEO K.M. Gayathri were present.
All minimum facilities have been provided at the polling booths and they include drinking water, toilets, electricity, ramp and wheelchairs.
About 2,667 voters who were aged 80 years and above and challenged, voted from their homes, utilising the provision provided by the Election Commission, recently. Arrangements have been made for ferrying aged and persons with disabilities to the polling booths. Village resource workers will coordinate.
The candidates can establish their booths 200 metres away from the polling stations. One polling agent for each booth can be appointed by the respective candidates.
Any proof cited among 11 proofs of identity listed by the EC can be used for casting the vote. The newly-registered voters need not worry if they haven’t received their voters’ ID cards since they can vote with any proof of identity, including Aadhaar card, driving licence, PAN, bank passbook and so on.
No mobile phones allowed
A press note issued by the Deputy Commissioner said that no mobile phones and cameras will be allowed inside the polling booths.
Security personnel
A total of 3,278 security personnel, including the Central Armed Police Force, paramilitary force and the State police, have been posted for bandobust for the elections in Mysuru district.
