Kangra gears up for polls, 19 strongrooms set up

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Dharamsala, May 24

District Election Officer and Deputy Commissioner Hemraj Bairwa yesterday reviewd the vote-from-home facility and the EVM-VVPAT commissioning process in the Kangra constituency.

Bairwa gave necessary instructions to officials and employees deployed on election duty to facilitate smooth voting.

The DC said the commissioning process of the EVMs and VVPATs allotted for the Lok Sabha election and byelection to the Dharamsala Assembly constituency would be completed tomorrow.

The DC said 19 strongrooms had been set up to secure EVMs and VVPATs in the Kangra parliamentary constituency.

He added that the strongroom for the commissioning process would be opened in the presence of candidates or their authorised representatives. After the completion of the process, the machines will be sealed and kept in the strongroom. During this period, no person will be allowed to carry any type of electronic device inside the hall.

The DC said as per the guidelines of the Election Commission of India, 1,000 mock polls were conducted in five per cent of the total EVMs to be used. Besides, one mock poll will be conducted in the remaining EVMs to ensure proper functioning of each button and correct confirmation of the vote cast by the voter for the candidate of his choice. During this mock poll, every vote cast in the name of the candidate in all the EVMs is confirmed by all political parties and their candidates to ensure that no problem arises on the day of voting.

The DC also instructed the booth-level officers to deliver the voter slips to the voters. Bairwa added that a SVEEP campaign was being organised in the district to increase the voting percentage. Along with this, special focus has been laid on the polling booths with less than 60 per cent voting in the last Lok Sabha elections.

He said 1,910 polling stations have been established in the Kangra-Chamba parliamentary constituency and necessary facilities have also been provided as per the guidelines of the Election Commission.