STATE TIMES NEWS

JAMMU: With all arrangements in place, the polling for second phase of ongoing Lok Sabha elections is all set to commence on April 26 in the 5 Jammu Parliamentary Constituency.
“A total of 17,80,835 lakh voters have been enrolled in phase II, including 9,21,095 male and 8,59,712 female voters besides 28 third gender electorates. There are around 10498 Persons with Disability and 666 persons above the age of 100 years who will also be exercising their franchise”, read a communique received here on Wednesday by the office of Chief Election Officer, J&K.

10498 PWDs, 666 centenarians to exercise their franchise

Around 2,416 polling stations are set to go to polls in the second phase across 4 districts of Jammu, Samba, Reasi and Rajouri (83- Kalakote-Sunderbani), out of these 36 polling stations are P-2. The election staff including Presiding Officers will be stationed in every polling station. In total, more than 15,000 polling staff, including reserve will be deployed on duty on the polling day. Among the districts, Jammu has 50 while Samba has around 12 border polling stations.
The communication added that the voting will take place from 7.00 am to 6.00 pm and before that there will be mock poll in the polling stations in presence of the polling agents. Also, the voting will continue even after 6.00 pm, if voter’s queue is still there in the Poling Station premises to utilize their right to vote.
Every polling station will be provided with Assured Minimum Facilities (AMF) like drinking water, electricity, toilet, ramp, furniture, verandah / shed besides wheel chairs will also be provided to the needy. The ballot unit will also have a list of contesting candidates in brail script. Where ever required, there will be separate ques for senior citizens and specially abled persons facilitating them with early polling. Additionally, there will be a voter help desk, manned by the concerned Booth Level Officer (BLO).
There will be 10 polling booths managed by women (also called as pink polling stations), 10 polling booths manned by specially abled persons and 9 by youths. Also, there will be 12 green polling stations in order to spread message about environmental concern. The purpose behind these special polling station is to spread awareness among sections of society like women, specially abled, first time young voters to come forward and exercise their right to vote.
Aimed at to facilitate the voters in identification and increase voter turnout ratio, all voters have been provided with voter information slip with all requisite information like Polling Station name, date and time of poll, serial number of voter in the list, his full name, QR code but not the photograph of the voter. Hence, the voter Information Slips will not be allowed as proof of the identity of voters. Also, the citizens can view details of the Polling Station, Parliamentary Constituency and get the contact details of the Booth Level Officer, Electoral Registration Officer among other services, through Voter Helpline App (VHA). This mobile app is available on the Google Play store and Apple App Store.
In addition to Electoral Photo Identity Card (EPIC), 12 types of documents will also be allowed to verify a voter and allow him for voting. EPIC card is not mandatory for voting. The requisite documents included AadhaarCard, MGNREGA Job Card, Pass books with photograph, Health Insurance Smart Card issuedunder the scheme of the Ministry of Labour, Driving License, PANCard, Smart Card issued by RGI under NPR, Indian Passport, Pension document with photograph, Service Identity Cards with photograph issued to employees by Central/StateGovt./PSUs/Public Limited Companies, Official identity cards issued to MPs/MLAs/MLCs and Unique Disability ID (UDID) Card, issued by Union Social Justice and Empowerment Ministry.
The document further read that more than 600 journalists and cameramen of print, electronic and social media platforms have been provided with pass to cover the polling process without compromising secrecy of vote and causing any inconvenience to the democratic exercise.
Besides, the Voter Turnout App will be used to display estimated provisional voter turnout details of each Parliamentary Constituency entered by the RO. The media can also use the same application to capture estimated voter turnout data. Approximate voter turn out data of each phase of the elections will be displayed through this app. There will be two hourly reporting of voting percentage from 9.00 am to the end of poll. The concerned ARO and RO will share the data with media accordingly.
Around 1454 polling stations in phase 2 will have CCTV camera for live webcasting to control rooms established at District and CEO office. Around 124 polling stations will have two cameras for inside and outside surveillance. Around 2000 vehicles of Polling parties and sector officers will be equipped with GPS system so as to locate the vehicle and monitor movement, including over speeding. Besides, Satellite Phones, Wireless sets and Special Runners have been put in place in around 13 polling stations which fall in communication shadow areas.
In the entire Union Territory, from the date of announcement of the election till date material/cash of around Rs 28.497 crore has been seized by various enforcing departments.
As per the communication, the public campaigning in areas of Jammu Parliamentary Constituency has concluded her today 24th April evening, 48 hours before conduct of the elections. No one, including citizens, journalists, politicians, would be allowed to partake in any election campaign related activity. Holding public meetings, conferences, interviews has been stopped to give the voters a peaceful break from being influenced by campaigns so that they may make a considered decision while voting. Besides, political advertisement in print media can only be done only after prior clearance from Media Certification and Monitoring Committee (MCMC). Sale of liquor, even from the licensed shops, has also been banned. Till date, 78 grievances have been received on C-VIGIL app and more than 50 % resolved in time and other are under resolution. For filing Model Code of Conduct Violation cases by the citizens, C-VIGIL app provides time-stamped evidentiary proof of the Model Code of Conduct/Expenditure Violation by empowering every citizen to click a photo or video using his or her Smartphone.
To monitor various election related activities and also check MCC compliance, a Command and Control Room has been established at CEO office, Jammu and similar mini control rooms at every DEO offices which are functioning 24 x 7. Apart from looking for MCC violation, the Control room gets live feed from more than 55% Polling Stations and all vehicles being used for poll parties movement.