Bhubaneswar: With campaigning coming for byelection to Brajrajnagar Assembly constituency to an end at 6 pm on Sunday, all preparations including special arrangement for PwDs and Braille ballot papers for physically challenged voters have been made.
Chief Electoral Officer Sushil Kumar Lohani, in a release on Sunday, said all kinds of election preparedness including manpower, election materials, EVMS and security arrangements are in place for Brajrajnagar bypoll in Jharsuguda district scheduled on May 31.
Total 2,14,878 voters including 1,10,050 males, 1,04,811 females and 17 transgenders will cast their votes in 279 booths. Of the total booths, 257 are original booths and 22 auxiliary booths. Model booths will be set up at 30 places with facilities like ramp, temporary shed and separate queues. Volunteers will also be deployed to carry people with disabilities (PwDs) and elderly persons on wheelchair.
Similarly, 5 pink booths, especially in urban areas, manned by trained lady polling officers will be opened.
Lohani said postal ballot votes from 312 absentee voters have been collected and kept in strong room. Postal votes are also coming from service voters and those would be counted along with EVM votes on the counting day on June 3.
Special arrangement is being done for 60 booths identified as ‘sensitive’ while web-casting has been planned for 145 booths. Total 50 micro observers and extra CRPF personnel deployment will be made in appropriate locations, he added.
To ensure free and fair voting, 1228 polling officers will be appointed. Meanwhile, 1000 police officials and 3 companies of Central armed force have been deployed at different booths to maintain law and order.
Polling party dispersal is being done at Jharsuguda Engineering School in Badheimunda and they are being dispatched to their destinations. As many as 1228 polling officers including reserved are engaged in polling duty.
The voting will be carried out as per strict COVID norms for which arrangement of sanitisers and thermal scanning has been made at all polling booths.
District collector, SP and returning officer have been directed to ensure that the workers and leaders of all political parties from outside the constituency to leave Brajrajnagar after the end of the campaign. Besides, liquor outlets will remain closed for 48 hours prior to the election date.
The voters can cast their votes by producing any of 12 identity cards and make their queries at the toll-free number 1950. Help desks have also been set up at every polling booth.
