Over 10.29 Lakh People To Vote In Udupi For Assembly Elections — DC Kurma Rao M
Udupi: “The Model Code of Conduct came into effect immediately after the announcement of the election schedule for Karnataka assembly elections”, said Kurma Rao M deputy commissioner of Udupi district in a press meet held at the DC office here on March 29.
Addressing the mediapersons DC Kurma Rao said that the election commission of India announced the schedule for the Karnataka Assembly elections on March 29. The state Assembly elections in Karnataka will be held on May 10 and the votes will be counted on May 13. The EC will issue the notification for the elections on April 13, but the Model Code of Conduct came into effect immediately after the announcement of the elections.
In Udupi district, 1029678 voters are expected to exercise their franchise and the commission will set up 1111 polling stations across the district, he said.
There are 1029678 electorates in total, of which 1029424 are general voters and 254 are service voters, according to the details. In addition to this, 17927 young voters are at least 18 years old.
April 20 will be the last date for filing nominations and April 24 will be the last date for withdrawal of the same. The nominations would be scrutinized on April 21. Polling will be held in a single phase on May 10. Votes will be counted on May 13 and the results are expected on the same day.
The Commission has issued instructions to ensure that as far as practicable, all polling stations are located on the ground floor and sturdy ramps are provided for the convenience of differently-abled voters with wheelchairs. Further, to provide targeted and need-based facilitation to the differently-abled voters, the Commission has directed that all Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) in an Assembly Constituency are identified and tagged to their respective Polling Stations and necessary disability-specific arrangements made for their smooth and convenient voting experience on the poll day. Identified PWDs will be assisted by volunteers appointed by RO/DEO. Special arrangements will be made for PWDs at the Polling Stations. Also, it has been directed that differently-abled voters are given priority to enter polling booths, provide designated parking spaces close to the entrance of the polling booths and take special care of voters with speech and hearing impairment. The polling personnel will be sensitized regarding the unique needs of differently-abled voters.
As part of its firm commitment towards gender equality and greater constructive participation of women in the electoral process, the 5 Commission has also directed that, to the extent possible, ‘All-women Managed Polling booth’ shall be set up in one polling station for each Assembly Constituency where the entire polling staff, including the police and security personnel, shall be women.
The Model Code of Conduct comes into effect immediately. All the provisions of the Model Code will apply to the whole Udupi district and will apply to all the candidates/political parties. The Commission has made elaborate arrangements for ensuring the effective implementation of the MCC Guidelines.
Comprehensive instructions for effective monitoring of the election expenditure of the candidates have been issued, which include the formation of Flying Squads (FS), Static Surveillance Teams (SST), Video Surveillance Teams (VST), the involvement of the Investigation Directorate of Income Tax Dept. etc. State Excise Department and police authorities have been asked to monitor production, distribution, sale, and storage of liquor and other intoxicants (including narcotics) during the election process. The functioning and operations of the Flying Squads/Mobile Teams shall be closely monitored using GPS Tracking, he added.
Additional DC Veena, Superintendent of Police Akshay M, and ZP CEO Prasanna H were also present.
