There has been an increase of 5.84 lakh voters in four parliamentary constituencies in Bangalore since January 2014.
As per data provided by the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), the total number of voters in the four constituencies in the City — Bangalore South, Bangalore North, Bangalore Central and Bangalore Rural parliamentary constituencies — went up from 79.35 lakh in January 2014 to 85.19 lakh at present.
Speaking at a press conference here on Monday, M. Lakshminarayana, District Election Officer and BBMP Commissioner said that persons with disabilities will be allowed to bypass the queue at polling booths and cast their vote. They can also get a person to accompany them to the booth.
“If they have to be taken to the ballot, then the person accompanying them has to file a declaration stating that they would not disclose which party the person has voted for,” Mr. Lakshminarayana said. He added that all the voting machines were Braille-enabled to help visually challenged candidates exercise their franchise.
Women officers (except presiding officers) deployed on election duty will be exempted from staying overnight at the booths a day before the polls. “The women officers can be exempted from staying overnight, but they need to report on time for work,” Mr. Lakshminarayana said.
He also said that Bangalore South polling stations which will have Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail would have one extra officer for each booth. The VVPAT machines will print out the choice made by voters but the print will remain inside the machine and will be preserved.
There will be 50 model polling booths for every parliamentary constituency. These polling booths will have adequate seating arrangement, better infrastructure and will serve as a centre where voters can make enquiries, he said.
