- Mobile phones, camera not allowed
- Sale of liquor has been prohibited from 6 pm on May 8 till 6 am on May 11
Mysore/Mysuru: The fate of 143 candidates, who are contesting from 11 Assembly Constituencies in Mysuru district, will be sealed tomorrow in the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) as Karnataka will go to polls from 7 am to 6 pm.
On its part, the Election Commission and the District Administration have appealed the voters to exercise their franchise in a free and fearless manner without being induced, enticed or influenced by political parties.
Mustering centres across 11 Assembly segments witnessed a flurry of activity this morning where the polling officials and personnel deputed for poll duty reported at the mustering centres as early as 6 am and waited in groups for their turn to collect the election-related materials — EVMs (5,620 Ballot Units), 4,266 Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trial (VVPAT) machines, 3,936 Control Units, indelible ink vials, seals, brushes and other stationery.
Over 2,905 Presiding Officers, 3,250 Assistant Presiding Officers and 6,352 Polling Officers have been appointed and trained and in addition, 600 Central Government employees too have been appointed to oversee the process. To ensure the smooth functioning of the machines, 22 technical engineers from Electronics Corporation of India Limited (ECIL), Hyderabad have been deployed.
11 Constituencies
There are 11 Constituencies in Mysuru — Chamaraja, Krishnaraja, Narasimharaja, Chamundeshwari, K.R. Nagar, Periyapatna, Varuna, Hunsur, Nanjangud, T. Narasipur and H.D. Kote.
In the city limits, mustering was held at Maharani’s Arts, Commerce and Science College on JLB Road (Chamundeshwari Constituency), Maharaja’s College Centenary Hall near Ramaswamy Circle on JLB Road (Krishnaraja), Baden Powell School behind DC Office (Chamaraja) and JSS College on Ooty Road (Narasimharaja).
26,55,988 eligible voters
In the district, there are 26,55,988 eligible voters (13,17,121 men, 13,38,637 women and 230 others) who will elect their representatives at 2,905 polling booths on May 10 (Wednesday) from 7 am till 6 pm. Utilising the special provision of vote from home extended to voters above 80 years of age and people with disabilities, 2,667 voters have already exercised their franchise.
Polling officials began arriving at the mustering centres starting from 5.30 am today and initially, their attendance was taken and they were allowed to cast their postal ballot. Each polling booth has five officials including one Presiding Officer, one Assistant Presiding Officer and three assisting officials. Along with them, there will be two Policemen.
Checklists and numbering
Ready-made checklists were given to polling officers where each item (machines and stationery) was handed over and marked. While handing over the machines, serial numbers were marked and officers were given guidance on how to operate. A separate section was arranged at all the mustering centres where master trainers trained the polling officers and cleared their doubts.
481 KSRTC buses, 84 maxicabs and 29 jeeps were parked in front of mustering centres and after obtaining the materials, officers boarded their respective vehicles. As the polling officers had come early, breakfast was arranged at the mustering centres. They left for their respective polling booths after lunch.
Gates to be closed at 6 pm
Indelible ink will be applied on the left-hand forefinger of the voters. As the polling process will start at 7 am and end at 6 pm, the gates of the polling booths will be closed at 6 pm. However, officials clarified that those who come to the polling booths by 6 pm, even at the last minute, will be allowed inside to vote.
The polling process will be wound up only after the last voter has exercised the voting right.
Sheer waste of time, as the votes of these voters mean nothing in the end. The real votes which matter will be added after the polling stations are closed.
In the old days, when ballot papers and ballot boxes were used, the ballot boxes containg the votes from the polling stations were substituted with another set of ballot boxes which had ballot papers with votes that ensured the win of one very rich cndidate who paid enough cash to the EC officials and the police for the swap of ballot papers.
The electronic votes are easy to work through after the polling is completed, to shift votes to the candidate who wants to win and who has the cash to pay for it. This is a very very lucrative business.