With public canvassing for the byelections to Hangal Assembly Constituency ending on Wednesday evening, the Haveri district administration has made elaborate arrangements for the smooth conduct of the polling on October 30.
Addressing presspersons in Haveri on Tuesday, Deputy Commissioner of Haveri and District Election Officer Sanjay Shettennavar said that public canvassing will end at 7 p.m. on Wednesday and subsequently, no public campaign or poll meeting will be allowed.
Although candidates will be allowed to carry out door-to-door campaigning, not more than five persons will be permitted in each group for canvassing. The 72 hours preceding the completion of polling will be considered as the Silence Hour. And, candidates and their followers should mandatorily follow COVID-19 guidelines during canvassing, he said.
“As per Election Commission guidelines, publication of any kind of opinion poll is banned in the 48 hours preceding the deadline for polling. Similarly, no exit poll results should be published or telecast from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. on the day of polling on October 30,” Mr. Shettennavar said.
He said that star campaigners fielded by political parties and other political leaders from outside the constituency, barring the candidates and poll agents, should leave the constituency before 7 p.m. on Wednesday. Candidates should not use party vehicles and loud speakers. Also, they should not canvass at religious places and seek votes based on caste, language and religion, he said.
Marriages
The Deputy Commissioner said that taking the requisite permission for conducting marriages within 72 hours preceding the polling deadline is mandatory. The condition is applicable to marriages happening within a radii of 5 km from polling stations.
Listing out various dos and don’ts for candidates and poll agents, Mr. Shettennavar said that all vehicles will be compulsorily checked at check-posts. In the border and sensitive areas, teams comprising police, excise and sector officials will do patrolling, he said.
263 booths
Mr. Shettennavar said that, in all, 263 polling stations have been set up for polling. A total of 1,155 personnel and officials will be deployed for poll duty.
The Hangal Assembly constituency has a total of 2,04,481 voters — 1,05,525 male, 98,953 female and three voters belonging to the third gender.
Seized
Meanwhile, the Excise Department has seized 14 vehicles for violation of guidelines and recovered 776 litres of liquor worth ₹3.12 lakh. This apart, 196 FIRs have been registered under Excise Act, while five cases have been booked for model poll code violations.
Superintendent of Police Hanumantharaya and Additional Deputy Commissioner N. Thippeswamy were present.
