3 crore ballot papers to be printed for panchayat poll

The Himachal Pradesh State Election Commission has ordered the printing of three crore ballot papers for the panchayat elections scheduled to be held in December. Every voter will cast five votes to elect pradhan, vice-pradhan, ward member, Panchayat Samiti member and Zila Parishad member in these elections. “There will be around 60 lakh voters in the elections to panchayati raj institutions. So, we’ve ordered the printing of three crore ballot papers. Last time, we had printed 2.75 crore ballot papers,” said an official of the Election Commission.

The official said that the commission had ballot boxes ready to conduct the elections and these boxes would be moved to blocks from the district headquarters shortly. “Also, election forms and other election-related stationary will be sent to blocks by next week,” he added. Around 3,575 panchayat pradhans and vice-pradhan would be elected through these elections.

The commission has written to schools to advance exams and finish these by December 6. “The commission uses school buildings to set up polling booths and other activities. Besides, we draw much of the staff from the Education Department to conduct the elections,” said the official. The district administration is expected to release the reservation roster for the panchayat poll shortly.