Mysuru, Dec. 9 (RK&KS)- The voting for the Legislative Council polls from Local Authorities Constituency for the dual-member Mysuru-Chamarajanagar seat will take place in both Mysuru and Chamarajanagar districts from 8 am to 4 pm tomorrow.

The mustering was held at Mini Vidhana Soudha in Nazarbad today from 8 am to 11 am. Tahsildar K.R. Rakshith explained about the procedures to be followed and precautions to be taken for smooth conduct of polls by all polling officials and staff.

The polling officials and staff were handed over ballot boxes, ballot papers, indelible ink, voters list and stationeries following which the staff boarded mini buses, tempos and jeeps to their respective booths.

The staff, after arriving at their respective booths, will check for basic facilities such as availability of drinking water, electricity, toilets and other facilities and will prepare themselves for tomorrow’s polls.

Public campaigning by the candidates concluded yesterday at 4 pm and in view of the election on Dec. 10, wine stores and bars in Mysuru city and district have been closed for two days from Dec. 8 at 4 pm till the midnight of Dec. 10.

Candidates who are contesting for tomorrow’s MLC election are Raghu R. Kautilya of BJP, Dr. D. Thimmaiah of Congress, C.N. Manjegowda of JD(S) and Vatal Nagaraj of Kannada Chaluvali Vatal Paksha (KCVP). Candidates who are contesting independently are Gurulingaiah, K.C. Basavarajaswamy and R. Manjunath.

Tomorrow, the polls will be held at all Gram Panchayats and Town Panchayats and the poll officials are well prepared for the smooth conduct of election. Polling will be held at 259 booths in Mysuru district and 134 booths in Chamarajanagar district.

6,771 voters

There are a total of 6,771 voters in both the districts. Mysuru district has 2,172 male voters, 2,329 female and others while Chamarajanagar has 1,082 male and 1,187 female voters.

A total of 1,192 officials and staff in Mysuru district and 617 officials and staff have been deployed in Chamarajanagar district for poll duty.

For identification

Voters should carry the EPIC card (Voters ID Card) issued by the Election Commission of India or Passport, Driving Licence, identity cards issued by the State/Central Government, public sector industries, Bank pass books issued by nationalised banks or Post Office, PAN Card, Smart Card issued by Registrar General of India (RGI) under National Population Register (NPR), employment card issued under NREG scheme etc. for identification at polling booths.

Mobile phones, cameras and pens have been banned inside the booths.

City Top Cop imposes Section 144

City Police Commissioner Dr. Chandragupta has imposed Section 144 around 200 mts. radius of polling booths from the midnight of Dec. 9 till Dec. 10 midnight.

The polling booths in city limits are: Naganahalli Gram Panchayat Office, Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) Office, Siddalingapura Gram Panchayat Office and Chamundi Hill Gram Panchayat Office.

During the polling hours, meetings, processions and other programmes, display of photos and videos in any form pertaining to the polls have been banned.

Ferrying voters in vehicles by candidates or party activists has been banned so also assembly of more than five persons.

As 200 mts. radius around all polling booths is considered as restricted areas, parking of private vehicles and usage of loudspeakers has been prohibited.

COVID rules mandatory

In view of the COVID pandemic situation, face masks and hand sanitisers have been provided to all polling staff and directions have been given to sanitise all polling booths today. Voters should compulsorily wear face masks and maintain social distancing at the polling booths.

To prevent any untoward incidents from taking place, tight Police security has been provided under the supervision of City Police Commissioner and Superintendent of Police.

Strong Room

After the polling concludes, all ballot boxes would be shifted to the Strong Room at Maharani’s Commerce and Management College for Women on Valmiki Road in Paduvarahalli and will be sealed. The Strong Room will be under tight Police security and CCTV surveillance round-the-clock.

Vote counting

Counting of votes polled in both the districts will be taken up from 8 am on Dec. 14 at Maharani’s Commerce and Management College for Women. The Strong Room will be opened at 7 am in the presence of Deputy Commissioner Dr. Bagadi Gautham, who is also the Chief Electoral Officer and the results will be announced on the same day.