The gram panchayat (GP) elections of 2015 will prove historical for Bidar district as it is the first district in the State where Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) are being used for panchayat-level polls.
P.N. Srinivasachari, State Election Commissioner, has said that the commission would extend the use of EVMs to other districts if the pilot in Bidar was successful. The district goes to polls on June 2.
The machines to be employed in GP polls would be different from the EVMs used in Assembly and Parliament elections, as they allow voters to cast multiple votes.
Apart from the buttons against the name and symbol of candidates, each ballot unit will have an ‘End’ button. Voters will have to choose the candidates, press the buttons in front of their names and then press the end button. Only then would the voting process be complete, said Deputy Commissioner P.C. Jaffer. Voters can cast up to five votes in one gram panchayat. In case of GPs with more than 20 candidates, two ballot units would be used.
He said this would simplify the process of voting and counting. Automation will reduce paper work and infuse transparency, he said. The district administration has taken up extensive training of officials on poll duty. Officials at the booth level to the returning officials and supervising officials, have been trained in the usage and safe-keeping of EVMs.
Publicity campaigns have been held to create awareness about the machines among voters and youth organisations are touring villages informing people about the pilot project. Election officials have allowed candidates to go around with replicas of the EVMs while campaigning.
Senior KAS officials Ravikiran Vanti and Mahantesh Bilagi have been posted as observers to the district.
This is not the first time Bidar has been chosen for experiments in elections. It was the first district to prepare photo electoral rolls in 2007. In 2004, it was among the first districts to prepare online electoral rolls, and it was the first district in the country to get model polling booths in 2013. One of the reasons Bidar was chosen for the use of EVMs is that it is close to Hyderabad, where EVM-maker Electronics Corporation of India is located.
Election in 179 out of 186 GPs in five taluks
3,199 seats: 200 seats elected unopposed, no nominations in 28 seats
1,154 polling stations, 93 auxiliary polling booths
3,600 ballot units, 1,460 control units of EVMs
