Karnataka Elections: EC to tighten security and set up pink polling booths

With just days left for the Karnataka elections, the Election Commission has decided to make the voting experience a more memorable one for the voters.

Election Commission has decided to deck up a few polling booths on various themes.

With a large number of women voters enrolling themselves for the democratic exercise, the EC has decided to set up pink polling stations besides setting up ethnic polling stations where the tribal population is high.

This apart, empowering the differently-abled personnel and voters, a few of the polling booths will completely be manned by differently abled officials. Giving details about the initiative, Sanjiv Kumar, Chief Electoral Officer, Karnataka said, “Pink polling stations will be set up wherever polling staffers are women including security personnel. The polling stations will be painted in pink colour while the booths in tribal areas are set up in accordance with their habitats.” The EC has already made elaborate arrangements to deck up the polling booths based on various themes.

According to Sanjiv Kumar, as many as 600 polling booths will be converted as pink polling stations. “The highest number of polling booths will be in Belagavi with 50 such booths. The second highest number of pink booths will be in Chikkaballapura (30). In these booths, all the five polling officials along with the security personnel manning the booths will be women,” the CEO explained.

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Similarly, a total of 28 polling booths in Mysuru, Chamarajanagar and Uttara Kannada districts will be converted as ethnic polling stations. “These polling stations will be built according to the local style of the tribals and their hamlets,” he said. Interestingly, as many as 112 differently abled polling officials have been roped in for poll duty. “At least 13 polling stations will be completely managed by differently abled officials. In 56 polling stations, differently abled personnel will be part of the duty,” Sanjiv Kumar said

To ensure transparency and monitoring of any untoward incidents on the election day, the Election Commission has facilitated Internet Protocol-based webcasting of proceedings from 3,500 critical and sensitive polling booths. CEO Sanjiv Kumar said this will help in controlling the situation without affecting the polling process if any untoward incidents are reported. This is the first time webcasting is being taken up, he said.

The commission in coordination with the election observers and district election officers has identified expenditure-sensitive segments and critical polling booths where over 80% of votes had been polled to a single party or candidate in the previous polls, he said.

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TIGHTER SECURITY

Stepping up surveillance in border areas, the Election Commission has sought inter-State cooperation from Income Tax, Excise and police authorities in Goa, Maharashtra, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala.

“We have held several rounds of meetings with officials from neighbouring States. They have set up check-posts to preventthe flow of cash, liquor and other materials from their States to Karnataka. While officials from Kerala seized ?1.75 crore cash, those from Goa seized hundreds of litres of liquor that was being transported to Karnataka recently,” said Sanjiv Kumar.

He told presspersons that officials from 18 border districts in Karnataka were coordinating with officials in the adjoining districts of neighbouring States to ensure strict vigil.