The model polling station, launched by West Godavari Siddharth Jain at Annakoderu, a delta village near here on Wednesday, provided a hands-on-experience to the villagers on use of electronic voting machines (EVMs) in the coming general elections. The model polling station, equipped with two EVMs—one for the Assembly and the other for the Parliament polls—five Polling Officers on duty, voter slips, showcased a simulated polling environment.
A group of 100 inhabitants, chosen for a demonstration on the use of the EVMs, stood in a queue waiting for their turn as in the case during the real polling. They received two voter slips in white (Assembly) and in pink (Parliament) from the Polling Officers. They entered a chamber where the two EVMs were placed for and exercised their franchise.
Campaign-on-wheelIn an informal chat with the voters, the Collector said the demonstration was intended to minimise the volume of invalid votes. Mr. Jain also launched a `campaign-on-wheels’ at the same place for promotion of ethical voting. He also led an awareness rally involving the local people with placards which read, “Don’t get lured by freebees and don’t sell your valuable vote for money and liquor”.
Meanwhile, the Collector said the administration had geared up to conduct the second phase of polling for the MPTCs and ZPTCs, to be held in Narsapur and Kovvuru revenue divisions on Friday. The elections will be held to 452 MPTCs and 24 ZPTCs with 1,180 and 87 candidates in the fray for MPTCs and ZPTCs respectively.
