EC all set for tomorrow's poll in Karnataka

B D Narayankar reports

Bangalore, April 16 (PTI) Electoral authorities are geared up for tomorrow's Lok Sabha polls in Karnataka in which about 4.62 crore people are eligible to exercise their franchise in the single-phase elections to be held amid tight security.

A total of 11,424 polling stations have been declared hypersensitive, for which about 60,000 security personnel will be deployed, Karnataka Chief Electoral Officer Anil Kumar Jha told a meet-the-press programme organised by the Bangalore Reporters' Guild here.

Of the total 54,264 polling stations, 14,968 are declared sensitive, he said. As many as 6,072 video cameras have been installed at various polling stations in the state and 2,687 polling stations will have webcast facilities, Jha said.

He said 435 candidates are in the fray in the 28 Lok Sabha seats in the state.

Jha said 15,85,224 fresh voters have been included in the voters' list, taking the total number to 4.62 crore.

According to Sec 135 B of the Representation of the People Act, people employed in any business, trade, industrial undertaking or any other establishment are entitled for paid holiday on the day of election, Jha said.

"If we receive complaints, action will be taken," he said.

On Election Observers, Jha said as many as 18,476 employees of public sector units will be employed as micro observers to conduct free and fair elections.

He said 2.95 lakh polling personnel, including 1.18 lakh women, would be deployed.

On overall seizures, Jha said a total of Rs 28 crore in cash and other items including gold and liquor have been seized so far. "It may increase because the poll exercise will continue today and tomorrow," he said.

Bangalore South is among the seven constituencies in the country chosen by the Election Commission to introduce Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) system on an experimental basis, Jha said.

VVPAT is a printer with drop box. It prints and displays a slip for seven seconds after the vote is cast so that a citizen can also see who they cast their vote for. The slip will then get automatically dropped into the drop box next to the Electronic Voting Machine and can't be retrieved.