PHASE I: LOK SABHA ELECTIONS 2024
23637 PwDs, 403 centenarians to exercise their franchise tomorrow
JAMMU: The 4-Parliamentary Constituency is all set to go to polls in the first phase of Lok Sabha elections, being held tomorrow April 19, with a total of 16.23 lakh voters including 8.45 lakh male and 7.77 lakh female electorates eligible to vote and participate in the electoral process.
The total electorates included around 23637 persons with a disability besides 403 persons above 100 years of age who have been enrolled to participate in the electoral process.
According to a communication received here today by the office of Chief Electoral Officer, J&K, around 2,637 polling stations are completely ready for the first phase of the general elections being held across five districts of Kathua, Udhampur, Kishtwar, Doda and Ramban. Out of these, 136 polling stations are P-2 while 31 polling stations belong to P-7 to P-3 category. Among the districts, Kathua has 25 polling stations along the international border. In total, more than 11000 polling staff including reserve will be deployed on duty.
The communication read that the polling will be held from 7.00 am to 6.00 pm before which there will be a mock poll in the presence of the polling agents. The voting will continue even after 6.00 pm, in case there will be the voters still waiting for their turn in the polling station premises.
Every polling station will be provided with Assured Minimum Facilities (AMF) besides wheelchairs will also be provided to the needy. The ballot units will have a list of contesting candidates in brail script. Where ever required there will be separate queues for senior citizens and specially-abled persons facilitating them for early voting. Additionally, there will be a voter help desk, manned by the concerned Booth Level Officer (BLO) to extend necessary help to the needy.
There will be 19 polling booths manned by women (also called pink polling stations), 14 polling booths manned by specially-abled persons and 17 will be looked after by youths. Also in order to spread the message about environmental concerns, there will be 20 green polling stations.
Aimed to facilitate voter identification and increase voter turnout, all voters have been provided with voter information slips with all requisite details like Polling Station name, date and time of the poll, serial number of voter in the list, his full name, QR code but not the photograph of the voter. Hence, Voter Information Slips will not be allowed as proof of the identity of voters. The concerned BLOs have already distributed voter information slips among all the electorates. Also, the citizens can view details of the Polling Station, and Parliamentary Constituency, and get the contact details of the Booth Level Officer, and Electoral Registration Officer among other services, through the Voter Helpline App (VHA). This mobile app is available on the Google Play store and Apple App Store.
In addition to the Electoral Photo Identity Card (EPIC), 12 types of documents will also be allowed to verify a voter and allow him to vote as an EPIC card is not mandatory for voting. These documents included Aadhaar Card, MGNREGA Job Card, Passbooks with photograph issued by Bank/Post Office, Health Insurance Smart Card issued under scheme of Ministry of Labour, Driving License, PAN Card, Smart Card issued by RGI under NPR, Indian Passport, Pension document with photograph, Service Identity Cards with photograph issued to employees by Central/State Govt/PSUs/Public Limited Companies, Official identity cards issued to MPs/MLAs/MLCs and Unique Disability ID (UDID) Card, issued by Union Ministry for Social Justice and Empowerment.
The Voter Turnout App will be used to display the estimated provisional voter turnout details of each Parliamentary Constituency entered by the RO. The media can also use the same application to capture estimated voter turnout data. Approximate voter turnout data for each phase of the elections will be displayed through this app. There will be two hourly reports of voting percentages from 9.00 am to the end of the poll. The concerned ARO and RO will share the data with the media accordingly. Even the updated figures will be placed in the voter turnout app.
Around 1440 polling stations in phase I will have CCTV cameras for live webcasting to control rooms established at the District and CEO offices. Besides, 200 polling stations will have two cameras, for inside and outside surveillance. Around 2100 vehicles of polling parties and sector officers will be equipped with GPS system so as to locate the vehicle and monitor movement. Also, Satellite Phones, Wireless sets and Special Runners have been put in place for about 95 polling stations which are in communication shadow areas.
In the entire Union Territory, from the date of announcement of election to till date material/ cash of around Rs 5.34 crore has been seized by various enforcing departments.
The J&K Election office is implementing the Model Code of Conduct in letter and spirit by facilitating the general masses to exercise their right to vote in a free and fair manner. The public campaigning in areas of the Udhampur Parliamentary Constituency concluded on the 17th of April evening, allowing the voters a peaceful break from being influenced by the election campaigns. To date, 75 grievances have been received on the C-VIGIL app and more than 50 % resolved in time while others are under resolution. For filing Model Code of Conduct Violation cases by the citizens, the C-VIGIL app provides time-stamped evidentiary proof of the Model Code of Conduct/Expenditure Violation by empowering every citizen to click a photo or video using his or her smartphone.
Likewise, to monitor various election-related activities and check model code of conduct compliance, a 24*7 working Command and Control Room has been established at the CEO’s office, Jammu and similar mini-control rooms have been set up at every DEO office. Apart from looking for MCC violations, the Control room also has a live feed of more than 55 % of polling stations and all vehicles being used for poll parties’ movement.
