DK district: 17 lakh voters to decide on 58 candidates

The fate of 58 candidates, who are in the fray in the eight Assembly segments in Dakshina Kannada district, will be sealed on Saturday. A total of 17,11,848 voters will decide the fate of the candidates. There are 1,858 polling booths in the district.

Both the Congress and BJP have fielded their candidates in all the 8 Assembly segments while the newly-formed All India Mahila Empowerment Party has fielded its candidate in seven segments. The CPM has fielded candidates from four constituencies while JD(S) is contesting from five constituencies. The Akhila Bharat Hindu Mahasabha is contesting from two constituencies. There are 11 Independent candidates in the district.

Though the public campaign ended on Thursday evening, political parties carried out door-to-door campaigns throughout the day on Friday as a last minute effort to woo voters.

Of the 1,858 polling booths, 517 booths have been identified as critical booths. Webcasting will be carried out from 97 booths, wherein a person sitting even in different parts of India and the world can get a view of what is happening in the polling booths. Micro observers have been deployed for 221 booths and the remaining critcal booths will be covered by Central paramilitary force personnel and videographers.

As per the direction of the Election Commission, 20 pink polling booths have been set up in DK along with five ethnic polling booths. The ethnic polling booths have been decked up in tribal culture. The booths have been decked with ‘ani’ made of tender coconut fronds.

Thorana of mango leaves have also been made in the ethnic polling booths. The ethnic centres are at DK ZP Higher Primary School, Neriya; DK ZP Model School, Bellayur; Kendriya Model Residential School, Madhya; DK ZP Upgraded Higher Primary School, Balnadu; and DK ZP Higher Primary School, Subrahmanya.

The pink polling booths have been painted pink and the polling personnel will wear pink colour attire. In addition, two model polling booths have been set up at Victoria High School, Lady Hill and Government School at Gandhinagara.

The model polling booth will be free of queues wherein the voters will not have to stand in a queue to cast their franchise. Instead, they will be made to sit in a lounge wherein volunteers will issue a token to go and cast their franchise.

A red carpet will be laid in the polling station.

The lounge will have seating arrangements, cooler, and drinking water facility along with TV, in which, all the video clippings of SVEEP activities will be played.

A total of 13,176 polling officials have been deployed for the smooth conduct of polling. Each polling booth will have a presiding officer, four other staff and one D group worker.

The apolitical party agents would have to be present in the polling booths by 5.45 am on the polling day as mock polling would be conducted in their presence.

Political parties are allowed to put up their help-desk 200 metre outside the polling station.

For the election purpose, 335 buses, 163 vans, 150 jeeps are being used by the district administration. All the polling booths have toilet, drinking water and ramp facilities.

The Dakshina Kannada district administrator has made arrangements to supply food for staff deployed on election duty through mid-day meal workers.

The staff will be provided lunch, breakfast, tea/coffee on the day of polling and dinner on the previous day of the polling.

There are 877 polling booths under the city police commissionerate’s jurisdiction. About 75% of the polling booths are provided with paramilitary personnel. A mobile team with 52 sub inspectors has also been deployed.

As many as 981 polling booths come under the district police jurisdiction, which will be provided security by the paramilitary personnel and police personnel.

A total of 72 mobile teams have been constituted with sub inspectors and inspectors.

The counting of votes of all constituencies on May 15 would be conducted at Mahatma Gandhi Centenary Higher Primary School and Mahatma Gandhi Centenary Composite Pre University College, Bondel in Mangaluru.