The Hindu : National : No bottles for ballots

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Friday, May 08, 2009
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National

No bottles for ballots

In an effort to curb free distribution of alcohol, a Ludhiana-based non-governmental organisation has embarked on a novel campaign by enrolling party candidates and schoolchildren. The Guru Gobind Singh Study Circle has roped in more than 50,000 schoolchildren, whose parents have given an undertaking to their wards not to vote for any candidate who indulges in corrupt practices. In addition, the Circle has managed to get the contestants of leading parties, including the Co ngress, the Akali Dal, the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party, to work with the people in combating the use of drugs and alcohol. The candidates have been asked to tell their campaign managers to discourage voters from seeking a bottle in exchange for their votes.

Beat the heat

The heat is taking its toll on candidates. With the mercury hovering over 40 degrees Celsius across the State, candidates privately admit that they have become a few shades darker. This applies to star campaigners too — at least those who get out of their campaign vehicles or climb on to the roof to speak. However, the candidates and their campaigners are finding ways to cope. It’s not possible to drink water throughout, as that would mean frequent stops to fi nd a restroom. A few have opted for coolers and white caps, and others choose to park in the shade to speak. Of course, this is not possible everywhere.

Voter turnout by SMS

A unique mobile short messaging service (SMS) system was used in Rajasthan’s Bundi district to get the latest information on the turnout on the polling day. Booth-level officers kept sending the information on turnout through SMS to a hi-tech control centre — equipped with six computers and 12 telephones — at the district headquarters. The messages were instantly downloaded on computers through the National Informatics Centre server with sophisticated com munications software. The data was uploaded on the websites of the Election Commission and the State Election Department and updated several times during the day. Nearly 4,500 cellular phones of the 801 booth-level officers, 110 zonal magistrates, police parties and distinguished citizens were used for making the initiative a success. Earlier, it used to take at least two hours for the zonal magistrates to collate this information from the polling booths.

EVM glitches in Delhi

The BJP candidate for Northeast Delhi, B.L. Sharma Prem, faced a minor hitch when he went to vote Thursday morning. He had to wait for over an hour before he could exercise his franchise. “I reached the polling station at around 7 a.m,” said Prem, a registered voter in New Delhi constituency, adding that the electronic voting machine (EVM) didn’t register his vote. “After a one hour and 15 minute wait, my vote was registered. The engineers who check ed the EVM said that a button was pressed,” Prem told IANS. In Northeast Delhi, Mr. Prem is pitted against Delhi Congress chief J.P. Agarwal. “After I returned to my constituency, I received a lot of complaints from several booths in my constituency about similar problems. I informed the election authorities about it,” he added.

(Contributed by K.V. Prasad, R.K. Radhakrishnan, Mohammed Iqbal and IANS)

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