Polling officials leaving for duty from the Government Pre-University College, Byndoor, for Lok Sabha elections in Byndoor Assembly constituency that is under Shivamogga Lok Sabha constituency. | Photo Credit: UMESH S. SHETTIGAR
The preparations for polling, scheduled for Tuesday, May 7, were completed on Monday, May 6. The staff engaged for election duty reached the polling booths with electronic voting machines by Monday evening.
As many as 23 candidates including B.Y. Raghavendra of the BJP, Geetha Shivarajkumar of the Congress, and K.S. Eshwarappa, an Independent, are in the fray. The Election Commission has set up 2,039 polling booths in eight assembly constituencies – Shivamogga Rural, Bhadravathi, Shivamogga, Tirthahalli, Soraba, Sagar, Shikaripur and Byndoor. The district administration hired 289 KSRTC buses to carry the staff to their respective booths.
Security
Shivamogga district administration has appointed 2,400 presiding officers, 7,444 polling officials, and 205 microobservers. Besides that, as many as 2,868 people, including police and home guards, have been posted to ensure the smooth conduct of the polling. Shivamogga district administration has identified 87 vulnerable booths and 104 vulnerable areas. The administration has identified 26 booths in the Naxal-affected areas. Additional forces will be deployed to ensure smooth polling in the area.
There are 17,25,883 voters in the constituency. Shivamogga DC Gurudatta Hegade informed the media that the officials have distributed voter information slips to all the voters. Besides the slips, the voters can carry other valid documents to cast their votes.
The polling starts at 7 a.m. and continues up to 6 p.m. “If there are any voters in the queue at 6 p.m., we will close the gate and ensure all those in the queue cast their votes. We are appealing to the voters to cast their votes and ensure a higher voter’s turnout,” the DC said.
Seizures
The teams constituted to ensure the effective implementation of the Model Code of Conduct, have seized valuables worth ₹19.07 crore. “We seize valuables and cash on suspicion. All that is seized need not be related to election malpractice. In some instances, the officers of Commercial Taxes, Income Tax, Excise Tax and GST verify the valuables, take proper action, and impose penalty”, the DC said.
