Mobile-based application to compile polling information

The data will be monitored by the BBMP and shared with the SEC

As Bengaluru turns out to vote for the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike elections on Saturday, polling officials at every booth will be updating voters turnout and other election-related information on an hourly basis.

The data will be monitored by the BBMP officials and will be shared with the State Election Commission (SEC). Speaking at an interaction programme with the media in Bengaluru on Thursday, BBMP Commissioner Kumar Naik said it is for the first time a mobile-based application is being used to compile polling information.

The data will be also be updated on the BBMP web-site. The polling officials can also send alert malfunctioning of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) or law and order problem, if any, using the mobile application, Naik said.

Bengaluru City Police Commissioner N S Megharikh said elaborate security arrangements have been made for the BBMP polls. As many as 20,000 police personnel, including 11,000, from outside the State will be deployed in Bengaluru.Police personnel have already made two visits to every polling booth to assess the local situation, he said.

NOTA
State Election Commissioner P N Srinivasachary, who was also present at the interaction, said he would soon write to the State government to include NOTA (None of the Above) provision in elections to urban local bodies. Srinivasachary said the Karnataka Panchayat Raj (Act) had been recently amended to include NOTA. Similarly, legislations related to municipalities and corporation need to be amended to include NOTA, he said.

However, those who do not want to vote to any candidate in the ward can still register their decision by signing on an register with the polling officer as per rule 70-O of the Karnataka Municipal Corporations (Elections) Rules, 1979.

The SEC would also write to the government to bring in amendment so that the deadline for closing of the public campaigning for civic polls is fixed 48 hours before the closing of polling on a par with Lok Sabha and Assembly elections.

The SEC has said that no interviews, meetings or any kind of discussions with political parties should be telecast on television or in the print media during the voting hours on August 22 , that is from 7 am till 5 pm.

Decline in BBMP services
Naik admitted that there has been a decline in the BBMP services as a large number of officials had been deputed for election duty. “BBMP officials are involved in updating electoral rolls and other poll-related activity. It is a massive activity and there has been slowdown in the pace of the BBMP services which will be made up soon after the elections,” Naik said. However, he added strict instruction had been issued that no BBMP office should be closed down for want of staff. He said as many as 3.37 lakh names had been added to the voters’ list in the last three months. Some applications are pending and will be processed soon.

BBMP polls in numbers
Date of polling: August 22, between 7 am and 5 pm
Total number of wards going to polls: 197
(BJP candidate elected unopposed in Hongasandra ward)
Total number of candidates in fray: 1,120
Total number of polling stations: 6,759

HELPLINES
Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike and State Election Commission (SEC) have opened helplines for
poll-related information
BBMP helpline: 080-22224748, 080-22221188
SEC helpline:
080-22374740
Voter list for BBMP 
polls can be accessed on
www. bbmp.gov.in
Hypersensitive booths: 1,700

LIQUOR SALE
Sale of liquor has been
prohibited from 7 am on August 21 to midnight of August 22 in view of the BBMP elections. Again
sale of liquor has been
prohibited from 6 am to 8 pm on
counting day (August 25).