E-Paper
A first in Delhi: All 70 assembly segments will have one pink booth each
New Delhi: In a first, all 70 assembly constituencies in Delhi will have a model ‘pink’ polling station, managed exclusively by women, when the city goes to vote on February 8. The concept of pink booths, where the polling party is all women, was launched in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections when 14 such booths were set up across districts.
Delhi’s chief electoral officer (CEO) Ranbir Singh Wednesday said, “This year, we will have a model polling booth in each constituency, where the polling party will be all women. Also, we are trying to have one booth in each of the 11 districts in Delhi to be manned by specially abled officials.”
According to officials, this will be the first assembly election in Delhi where all constituencies will have a pink booth each. Till 2015, model polling booths were set up across constituencies with facilities such as crèches for children.
The CEO further said the electoral roll has been frozen and as per the final voters’ list, a total of 14,786,382 will be able to exercise their franchise on February 8. Of them, 8,105,236 are male while 6,680,277 are female.
He said at least 3,000 to 4,000 people have registered for postal ballot, a facility being used for the first time in Delhi elections. The facility is only for those above the age of 80 years or those with severe disabilities who are unable to reach polling booths to cast their vote.
“We have got around 4,000 applications. Those who have opted for postal ballots are not eligible to go to the polling booth and vote. Our polling teams will go to the applicant’s home to collect his/her vote in complete secrecy. Poll officials will visit each such voter twice on polling day. The casting of the vote will be videographed. Also, political parties can send their agents along with the polling party,” Singh said.
The election office will be providing pick-up and drop facility for people above the age of 80 years and the specially abled. “We will be opening registrations during January 25-31 for the same. Those wanting to register for the service should do so during this window,” the CEO said.
The elderly voters can register for the facility on the helpline 1950 or through a link on the Delhi CEO website. In the 2019 LS polls, battery-run e-rickshaws were engaged to provide pick-up and drop facility to the elderly.
Besides this, 11 constituencies, including some booths in Delhi Cantonment, will have QR code enabled voter slips.
“This will be the first time that 20 lakh voters across 11 constituencies will be given these slips, which will help officials scan through the voters’ list quickly and hasten the voting process. The list is yet to be approved by the Election Commission of India. The constituencies have been identified based on several factors, including internet connectivity,” he added.
Action Taken
The Delhi Police has taken action against 2,078 public transport vehicles including auto-rickshaws, cabs, taxis and buses, carrying political advertisements, under the Defacement of Properties (DP) Act.
Special commissioner of police, Praveer Ranjan,said, ”Of those booked, 1,305 vehicles were carrying ads of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), 196 had Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s while 111 had Congress party ads.”
Also, officials stressed that “I love Kejriwal” ads on auto-rickshaws are political and need to be removed from the vehicles. A total of 229 cases have been booked under the DP Act including 12 against the AAP, one against the BJP and three against the Congress.