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Bhopal: Congress develops software to assist voters

Supporters of Congress nominee of ward no 30 Seema Praveen Saxena used a special software to distribute voter slips. This is apparently the first time when such a technology has been used to confirm the polling booths of voters and provide them voting slips from the tables.

Updated on: Feb 1, 2015, 18:04:38 IST
Hindustan Times | By , Bhopal
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In an attempt to harness the power of technology, supporters of Congress nominee of ward no 30 Seema Praveen Saxena used a special software to distribute voter slips on Saturday. This is apparently the first time when such a technology has been used to confirm the polling booths of voters and provide them voting slips from the tables.

Poll-workers-of-Congress-candidate-Seema-Praveen-Saxena-assist-a-voter-locate-her-booth-in-Bhopal-on-Saturday-HT-photo
Poll-workers-of-Congress-candidate-Seema-Praveen-Saxena-assist-a-voter-locate-her-booth-in-Bhopal-on-Saturday-HT-photo

Instead of searching for names by scanning the long lists of papers manually, polling booth managers were guiding voters with a mere click on their laptops. After asking for the name of the voter or the family member or the voter-ID number, Saxena's poll managers were providing the slips to the voters within a few seconds. Students of an engineering college, where Saxena's elder brother Sanjeev Saxena studies, were roped in to put the software to good use.

Computer science (CS) engineering student Abdullah Sarfaraj (20) said, "The software was developed using Java language and it's easy to operate. It searches names in both English and Hindi. Instead of going to the table of other parties, voters are coming to us as the software is not only saving their time but is also helping them find their polling booths."

Another youngster from Harshvardhan colony said, "It also saves our time as we don't need to move from one booth to the other to know where we need to cast our votes. With the help of the software, we can find our booths in just a click."

Saxena's husband Praveen Saxena said, "We developed the software after obtaining the permission of senior Congress leader Suresh Pachauri. Most of the members of our family are engineers. By introducing this software, we have found a solution to the complicated process of searching the names of the voters." Some other contenders had downloaded the list of voters on their laptops and were searching the voters' names in the downloaded files.

  • Shruti Tomar
    ABOUT THE AUTHOR
    Shruti Tomar

    I have spent over a decade chronicling Madhya Pradesh’s political and social landscape, covering politics, investigative journalism, crime, human interest, and government policy, blending sharp insight with ground‑level depth. I have closely tracked three assembly elections, three Lok Sabha elections, leadership transitions in MP while exposing governance lapses, tender irregularities, and flawed policy rollouts. My reports have revealed gaps in the Cheetah project, irregularities in medical education, rigging in recruitment exams, and loopholes in policy implementation. In crime reporting, I have moved beyond FIRs to map systemic patterns — from organised crime networks and gender‑based violence to custodial accountability — balancing urgency with sensitivity. My journalism is defined by a commitment to human interest. I have profiled the marginalised Bancchda community, documented atrocities against tribal groups, and highlighted efforts to preserve their culture through heritage liquor and revival of spiritual practices. I have reported on farmers struggling with failed MSP promises, giving voice to those often reduced to statistics in policy files. Passionate about field reporting, I have reported on rampant sand mining in Chambal and Narmada, pharmaceutical companies supplying medicines under altered names, the dire condition of schools and colleges, the plight of commercial sex workers, and skewed sex ratios in specific districts. Beyond deadlines, and as HT’s state correspondent and assistant editor in Madhya Pradesh, I engage with ministers, farmers, students, and activists, believing the best policy stories begin with a single human voice. A postgraduate in Journalism and Mass Communication, I also hold a diploma in sports journalism.Read More