Delhi gets over 13,000 new polling stations

The office of the Chief Electoral Office (Delhi) has increased the number of polling stations and rationalised the number of voters for each station. Chances are that the polling station where you usually vote might have changed and it may be a good idea to check details on the draft electoral roll recently published by the electoral office.

For many years, the number of polling stations in Delhi was 11,763 despite the number of voters going up. With no elections scheduled in the near future, the electoral office has taken the opportunity to increase the number of polling stations to 13,144. Also, it has distributed voters among these stations in a uniform manner so that no one booth has a significantly larger volume of voters to cater to.

The increase in the number of polling stations has been possible by adding 90 new polling premises to the list. While the number of polling locations till the Delhi Assembly elections held earlier this year was 2,530, it now stands at 2,620.

“The rationalisation of polling stations and adding more stations was long overdue. Due to back-to-back elections, we have been unable to carry it out as it would have led to confusion among voters,” said Chandra Bhushan Kumar, Chief Electoral Officer (Delhi).

“There was a sizeable load on the existing polling stations. With more voters added to the electoral roll, there is more pressure on them,” Mr. Kumar said. “That is why we have increased their number from 11,763 to 13,144. This has been possible by adding 90 new locations,” he added.

The rationalisation of polling stations, however, also means that the polling booths where electors cast their vote would have changed for many. “It is possible that serial numbers of voters might have changed even if other details remain the same. The draft electoral rolls have been published and we urge all voters to check their polling stations in the roll,” Mr. Kumar said.

The details can be checked on the website — www.ceodelhi.gov.in — or by visiting the nearest polling station or sending an SMS.

Mr. Kumar said the rationalisation of polling stations has been done after consulting all political parties. “We have received full cooperation from them. Their input for this exercise was a must,” he said.