K'taka to have 1.40 lakh polling officials in 14 LS seats

Bengaluru, April 24 (IANS) The Election Commission said on Wednesday that it had made elaborate arrangements for Karnataka's first phase polling in 14 Lok Sabha constituencies on April 26.

Chief Electoral Officer Manoj Kumar Meena said on Wednesday here that 1.40 lakh polling officials, 5,000 micro observers, 50,000 police personnel, and 65 companies of para-military forces and reserves from other states will be deployed on the voting day.

Addressing a joint press conference with the Additional Chief Electoral Officers R. Venkatesh Kumar and Kurma Rao M. at the State Election Commission office, Meena said there are a total of 30,602 polling booths in 14 Lok Sabha Seats among which 19,701 will be covered by webcasting. Through this system, live telecasts of those polling stations could be watched.

He further stated, “The CCTV cameras would be installed in 1,370 polling stations. There are 2.88 crore (2,88,19,342) eligible voters in 14 Lok Sabha seats. The government of Karnataka has declared a public holiday on the polling day. The non-government organisations have been asked to declare a paid holiday on the day of polling.”

“If this is violated, labour officers will initiate action as per the Negotiable Instrument Act and other provisions. From Wednesday 6 p.m. onwards, the silent period begins and public campaigning is not allowed. The use of loudspeakers is also not allowed. A group of five persons can carry out door-to-door campaigning. The political functionaries, who are not voters, will have to vacate their respective constituencies. This will not apply to tourists and pilgrims. The officers will begin monitoring hotels and lodges,” Meena stated.

The opinion and exit polls are not allowed by the media till June 1. The print media will have to publish only approved political advertisements on April 25 and 26, he added.

Meena further appealed to voters in urban areas to download the 'Chunavana App' available in the Google Play Store. The app will show the queue in the particular booth. It will also show the availability of parking spaces for vehicles. Besides that, on the backside of the voting slip, a QR code is given which will open the route map of the exact location of the polling booth.

The total number of voters in Karnataka is 5.47 crore (5,47,72,300) and the total number of polling stations in the state is 58871, he stated.

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