49 lakh to use VVPAT facility

Tribune News Service

Shimla, September 25

It is for the first time in any state election that voter verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT) facility, enabling a voter to see for whom he has cast vote, will be available at all 7,516 polling stations in Himachal, expected anytime in November.

Addressing a press conference here today, Chief Election Commissioner Achal Kumar Joti said 49.05 lakh people would cast vote at 7,516 polling stations in the Assembly polls. “The commission is committed to delivering free, fair and transparent elections. It has also directed the state election machinery to be fearless, unbiased and independent from any influence whatsoever,” he said.

He said the VVPAT facility would be available with every EVM where a voter could see the name of the candidate he voted for and his party symbol would be visible on a 10 cm X5.5 cm slip which would flash on the screen and got dropped in the drop box in the VVPAT machine only. Besides this, the results of the EVM counting would be matched with the VVPAT slip count at one polling booth in every segment, to ensure fairness.

A total of 136 women-managed polling stations, with two in each of the 68 segments, would be there, a first by the ECI.

He said various political parties had requested that polling for the Assembly elections should be held before the second week of November, keeping in view the adverse weather conditions in the higher reaches of the state. This, he added, would be borne in mind while preparing the election schedule. During the last Assembly polls in 2012, the polling had taken place on November 4 while the counting of votes was taken up on December 20.

“As per the revised electoral rolls, a total of 1.25 lakh new voters have been enrolled, including 40,567 first-time voters in the 18 to 19 years age group,” he said. Besides this, the names of 47,523 dead and shifted voters had been deleted from the rolls, he added. The number of women voters was 24.07 lakh and male voters 24.98 lakh, besides three NRI and 12 transgender voters. Besides this, 7,516 polling stations would be set up at 6,820 locations and election affidavits, filed by candidates, would be uploaded the same day on the website of the ECI.

Joti further disclosed that political parties had complained about the use of public money on hoardings and making announcements of new schemes without budgetary provisions by the state government and sought a check on mixing social and religious issues in the poll. He said they had sought a check on money power and paid news.

He said 204 flying squads and 204 static surveillance teams (three per constituency) would be operationalised to check the movement of cash, liquor, drugs and other freebies. “Three air intelligence units of the income tax authorities will be set up in Shimla, Kullu and Kangra airports and IT teams will be deployed at all railways stations,” he said.

“Political parties had complained of deploying retired, re-employed and officers on extension on election duty but we have directed that they should not be entrusted with any poll-related duty,” revealed Joti.

Election Commissioners Om Prakash Rawat and Sunil Arora, Senior Deputy Election Commissioner Umesh Sinha and Deputy Election Commissioners Sandeep Saxena and Sudeep Jain and State Chief Electoral Officer Pushpender Rajpoot were present.