Voting booths to remain same to avoid confusion

The administration has decided to skip the rationalisation of polling booths, which involves fixing new boundaries and generating the voters’ list accordingly

The district administration is planning to do away with the rationalisation of polling booths for the upcoming assembly elections. Top officials in the administration claim that the system changed the boundaries of the polling stations, which caused
confusion among voters during Lok Sabha elections.

The department is appointing nodal officers in each segment while Returning Officers (RO) are also being trained. Pic for representation

Rationalisation of polling stations involves fixing the boundaries based on definite geographical locations and the voters’ list is prepared accordingly. So far, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has not sent any circulars regarding the matter.

Don’t want chaos
Considering the high voter registration during the drives in the district since June, the administrative body is not
taking any chances and is hoping to make the election hassle-free for its voters.

“In the Lok Sabha election, the system changed the assembly segments for the voters, which led to chaos. Therefore, for the assembly elections, the idea has been scrapped.

Instead, 250 new auxiliary polling stations will be set up for the convenience of voters and the administration,” said Seema Holkar, Tahsildar in the District Election Department.

The auxiliary polling booths will be set up where the voters’ count exceeds 1,500 in one polling station.

The total number of registered voters in the district so far is 70.81 lakh.

Holkar said that before the model code of conduct comes into play, the department is expected to finish the first phase of
checking the Electronic Voting Machines.

“The basic infrastructure at the polling stations is our major concern and efforts are being made to ensure this.

The department is also appointing nodal officers in each assembly segment. Returning Officers (RO) are also being trained to conduct the election smoothly in the district,” said Holkar.

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