Polling officials are making all preparations to hold free and fair elections scheduled for Tuesday.
Belgaum Lok Sabha constituency has 19,23,788 voters, male 9,57,559, female 9,66,134 and others 95.
Similarly, Chikkodi Lok Sabha Constituency has 17,61,694 voters, male 8,85,200, female 8,76,414 and others 80.
A general holiday has been declared for all government offices, schools and colleges, including aided educational institutions, and public sector undertakings falling under the Lok Sabha constituencies.
Officers/employees working in these constituencies, business enterprises, industries and other establishments or working on daily wages have been ordered to grant paid leave under Section 135B of the Representation of People Act 1951 to enable voters to cast their votes.
Unlawful meetings have been prohibited and orders have been issued prohibiting holding of public meetings during the 48 hours preceding the hour fixed for the close of polls.
It applies to the region/entire constituency where the election is held.
An order has been issued banning the sale of liquor. The use of any loudspeaker during the preceding 48 hours ending with the closing time of polling for political campaigning is prohibited.
In case of campaigning for general elections to Lok Sabha constituencies, no campaigning shall be carried out within the constituency after the campaign period ends, political people who are not voters of the constituency, including political workers/party workers/marchers/office-bearers/campaign-workers brought from outside the constituency, shall leave the constituency.
As per the directives of the Election Commission, to ensure that the prescribed instructions are carried out, the election administration/police administration may take all necessary steps.
Inspection of welfare halls/community halls, etc., has been suggested to check whether any outsider is accommodated on these premises. Check-posts have been established at the boundaries of the constituency and the movement of vehicles coming from outside the constituency is being monitored. Identity cards are being checked to find out whether such people are voters of their respective constituencies.
The print and electronic media have been told not to conduct any kind of polls, including election polls in any media, including print or electronic media.
Display/publication of any election material in print and electronic media, including referendum, results or any other kind of survey results, is prohibited till the completion of the total seven phases of polling in the country.
Deputy Commissioner and District Election Officer Nitesh Patil is supervising poll preparations.
Government officials on poll duty carrying equipment allotted to them on their way to polling booths in Haveri on Monday. | Photo Credit: Sanjay Ritti
In two districts
In Haveri, Deputy Commissioner Raghunandan Murthy said that 17,92,119 voters are expected to cast their votes in Haveri and Gadag districts on Tuesday.
They include 9,02,119 men and 8,90,572 women and 83 third gender electors.
“If the voters do not have EPIC, they can show their passport, driving licence, PAN card or other identity cards given by the government authorities,” he told reporters on Sunday.
He said that special facilities will be provided to personnel with disabilities (PWD) at all polling stations. Three disabled-friendly polling stations have been set up. Senior citizens aged above 85 have been allowed to vote from their houses. To beat the heat, arrangements will be made to ensure shade in polling stations. Observers will monitor sensitive stations.
Superintendent of Police of Haveri Anshu Kumar Srivastava said that a team of police officers, including 10 Deputy Superintendents of Police, 31 Circle Inspectors of Police, 76 Sub-Inspectors, 153 Assistant Sub-Inspectors, 767 Head Constables, 1,450 Constables and 1,547 Home Guards, will be deployed in all the eight Assembly segments of the constituency.
“We have deployed 1,529 armed forces to avoid unwanted incidents during polling,” he said.
Deputy Commissioner and District Returning Officer Divya Prabhu has said that there are a total of 18.31 lakh voters in the Dharwad parliamentary constituency. | Photo Credit: FILE PHOTO
In Dharwad
Deputy Commissioner and District Election Officer Divya Prabhu told reporters on Sunday that there are a total of 18.31 lakh voters in the parliamentary constituency. Of these are 9.17 lakh men and 9.13 lakh women. The Dharwad Lok Sabha Constituencies consists of seven Assembly constituencies in Dharwad district and the Shiggaon Assembly seat in Haveri district.
The administration has set up 1,901 polling booths in the eight Assembly segments of which 234 are in Navalgund, 214 in Kundgol, 234 in Dharwad Rural, 217 in Hubballi-Dharwad East, 260 in Hubballi-Dharwad Central, 273 in Hubballi-Dharwad West, 228 in Kalghatgi and 241 in Shiggaon.
Ms. Prabhu said that 1,935 PROs and 1,935 APROs have been appointed, along with 3,870 polling staff. As many as 346 micro-observers are part of the 8,086 government employees on poll duty.
Officials have registered 1,833 poll code violation cases through the C-Vigil app of which 1,787 have been disposed of and necessary action taken. All the 950 complaints received on the helpline have been resolved.
As many as 1,901 volunteers will help senior citizens and physically challenged people to register their votes. Facilities like wheelchair, drinking water and toilet blocks have been provided in all the polling booths.
To provide medical care to the voters, 968 doctors and ASHAs are on duty. As many as eight mode code nodal officials, 66 flying squad, 84 Static Surveillance teams, 16 video surveillance teams, 24 video viewing teams, 12 accounting teams and five mobile teams are on duty.
As many as 40 Sakhi polling booths and eight ethnic polling booths and eight youth polling booths and special booths for physically challenged people have been set up. As many as 200 NWKRTC buses, 100 cabs and 65 school buses have been hired to ferry the polling staff, EVMs and VVPAT machines.
Polling staff have seized ₹20 crore unaccounted for money apart from gold, drugs and other material, in all worth ₹1.14 crore, that was meant to be distributed among voters.
Counting of votes in the Dharwad constituency will be taken up at the University of Agricultural Sciences on June 4.
