Karnataka sets up 1,832 special polling booths as state gets ready to vote in 14 LS seats tomorrow

The Election Commission (EC) in Karnataka has decided to establish 1,832 special polling booths to encourage different sections such as tribals, women, and persons with disabilities to participate and vote in the Lok Sabha elections.

The Department of Scheduled Tribes in coordination with the EC is setting up 40 special polling booths based on the tribal culture theme. These tribal theme-based polling booths will be located in Chamarajanagar (9), Mysuru (9), Dakshina Kannada (5), Shivamogga (3), Udupi (1), Hassan (1), Uttara Kannada (5), Kodagu (5) and Chikkamagaluru (2).

Special booths to encourage youth, women, and persons with disabilities are also being established across the state.

Karnataka's Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Manoj Kumar Meena has said the elections will be celebrated like a festival. Special booths are being established to increase voter turnout under the Systematic Voters' Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP) programme.

To encourage women voters, 1,120 Sakhi polling booths will be established all over the state and they will be managed completely by women.

For every Assembly constituency, a minimum of five Sakhi polling booths will be created.

Similarly, one polling booth in each Assembly constituency across the state will be set up to ensure the participation of specially-abled persons. These 224 booths will be operated by the specially-abled officers and staff.

Likewise, one polling booth in every Assembly constituency will be managed completely by young officers and staff. At least one polling booth in every constituency reflecting the culture and speciality of the region will be set up across the state, the CEO said.

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."

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.

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 58,871, he stated.

(With inputs from IANS)