The filing of nomination papers for the election to the Dharwad Lok Sabha Constituency will begin on Friday, the date on which the election notification is scheduled to be issued.
Briefing presspersons in Dharwad on Wednesday about the Lok Sabha elections, Deputy Commissioner and District Returning Officer Divya Prabhu G.R.J. said that the candidates will have time till April 19 to file their nomination papers.
Scrutiny of nomination papers will be held on April 20 and the last date for withdrawal of candidature is April 22. The date of polling is May 7.
Ms. Divya Prabhu said that the counting of votes will be taken up at the University of Agricultural Sciences in Dharwad on June 4.
1,901 booths
She said that the administration has set up 1,901 polling stations spread across eight Assembly constituencies, seven in Dharwad district and one (Shiggaon) in Haveri district.
Navalgund taluk has 234 polling stations, Kundgol 214, Dharwad 234, Hubballi-Dharwad East 217, Hubballi-Dharwad Central 260, Hubballi-Dharwad West 273, Kalghatgi 228 and Shiggaon has 241 polling stations.
Among these, 40 polling stations will be exclusively managed by women poll officials, while eight will be managed by polling personnel aged less than 30. As many as eight polling booths will be manned by persons with disabilities. And, there will be eight ethnic polling booths and eight theme-based polling stations, she said.
She said that prohibitory orders will be imposed in an area of 100-metre radius around the district administration office from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. from April 12 to 22.
During this time, only three vehicles of a candidate will be allowed to park inside the Deputy Commissioner’s office premises and only five people, including the candidate, will be allowed to enter the office while he files his nomination papers.
Those violating prohibitory orders and creating law and order problem will face stern legal action, she added.
A total of 17.91 lakh voters from eight Assembly constituencies, Dharwad, Hubballi Dharwad Central, East and West, Kundgol, Kalghatgi, Navalgund in the district and Shiggaon in Haveri district, are eligible to exercise their franchise in the elections.
Of them, 8.99 lakh are male voters and 8.92 lakh female. There are 97 transgender voters. Among these all, 31,412 are first-time voters.
Seized
Ms. Divya Prabhu said that so far, gold ornaments worth ₹38 lakh, ₹24.58 lakh unaccounted for money, illicitl liquor worth ₹29 lakh, saris worth ₹18 lakh and other material worth ₹12 lakh have been seized. And, cases have been booked in connection with violation of model code of conduct, she added.
Police Commissioner Renuka Sukumar and Additional Deputy Commissioner Geeta C.D. were present.
