The Election Commission will use unique, serial-numbered special pens with violet ink for marking ballots in the Presidential poll today.
Marking the ballot with personal pens, which will be collected from the voting MPs/MLAs by a polling staff before they enter the voting chamber, may lead to the invalidation of the vote, the EC said on Sunday. In a letter sent on July 15 to the Lok Sabha Secretary General and returning officer for the Presidential poll as well as all assistant returning officers, the EC said the specially designed pens were crucial to maintaining secrecy of votes and preventing the voting MP/MLA from getting identified at the time of counting, apart from ensuring uniformity in marking of ballots.
The special pens have been procured from Mysore Paints and Varnish Ltd, which also supplies indelible ink used by EC to mark index fingers of the voters.
Before an MP/MLA enters the voting chamber, a polling staff will collect any personal pen in his/her possession and hand him/her the ECI special pen for marking the ballot.
When the member emerges from the voting chamber, the special pen will be taken back by the polling staff and he/she would be handed over his/ her personal pen.
For the first time, special posters have been prepared for ‘do’s and dont’s’ to ensure a peaceful poll, use of only EC special pen, maintenance of secrecy and non-issuance of whip etc.
Polling will be conducted between 10 am to 5 pm. There are a total 32 polling stations, including one in Room no 62 of Parliament House and 31 in each state assembly.
The ballot papers will be in 2 colours – green for use by MPs and pink for use by the MLAs.
The EC has permitted 14 Rajya Sabha MPs and 41 Lok Sabha MPs to vote from various state assemblies. These mostly include Trinamool MPs who will be voting in the West Bengal assembly. While 5 MLAs will voting in Parliament, 4 MLAs will be voting from other state Capitals.
UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath and deputy chief minister K P Maurya, who is yet to resign from their Gorakhpur and Phulpur Lok Sabha seats respectively, will be voting from the UP assembly, while Goa chief minister Manohar Parrikar, who is still a Rajya Sabha MP, will vote in Goa. Union minister Uma Bharati, who represents Jhansi in Lok Sabha, will vote in UP.
Post Your Comments