Hindustan Times (Lucknow)

Polling in 50% booths to be monitored through webcasting

THE POLLING WILL BEGIN AT 7 AM (ON FRIDAY) AND CONTINUE TILL 6PM, RINWA SAID AT A PRESS CONFERENCE.

- HT Correspond­ent letters@hindustant­imes.com

LUCKNOW: The Election Commission of India (ECI) has completed its preparatio­ns for peaceful and fair polling in eight west UP Lok Sabha constituen­cies, Uttar Pradesh chief electoral officer (CEO) Navdeep Rinwa said on Thursday.

The polling will begin at 7 am (on Friday) and continue till 6pm, Rinwa said at a press conference.

The ECI, CEO and district returning officer will monitor polling on 50% of the booths through webcasting. The ECI has also deployed 1510 video teams at the polling booths, he said.

Central paramilita­ry forces (CPMF) have been deployed in all the constituen­cies. Among the constituen­cies, Kairana has the highest number of candidates 14 and Nagina and Rampur the lowest at six each.

The commission has set up 111 model polling stations, 45 booths will be managed by women personnel, 36 by youths and 32 booths by differentl­y abled staff. Arrangemen­t of wheel chairs and volunteers have been made for people with disabiliti­es.

The security of the strong rooms in which electronic voting machines (EVMs) will be stored after polling will be also in the hands o the CPMF. The ECI has also stationed air ambulance and helicopter­s in Moradabad and Bareilly to transport security personnel in an emergency, he said.

To maintain vigil, ECI has posted six general observers, five police observers, 10 expenditur­e observers, 1272 sector magistrate­s, 150 zonal magistrate­s, 103 static magistrate­s and 1,861 micro observers in the eight constituen­cies, Rinwa said.

Voter informatio­n slips and voter guide s have been distribute­d among 99.27% voters.

Voters can log in to the ECI website and Voter Helpline App to collect informatio­n about polling booths in their constituen­cies. Booth level officers will set up help desk near booths to assist voters, Rinwa said.

The voters can also lodge complaints on 1800180195­0 as well as on C- Vigil App.

For the first phase, 448 complaints were received on the app in which 264 were correct and 164 fake. A total of 233 complaints were disposed of within 100 minutes.

From March 16 till April 17, liquor, drug and cash worth Rs 9.72 crore were seized, he said.

 ?? HT PHOTO ?? Preparatio­ns for webcasting of polling on 50% booths in 8 Lok Sabha constituen­cies underway at the office of chief electoral officer, in Lucknow on Friday.
HT PHOTO Preparatio­ns for webcasting of polling on 50% booths in 8 Lok Sabha constituen­cies underway at the office of chief electoral officer, in Lucknow on Friday.

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