LS polls: 45,576 EVMs at 20,031 polling stations in Haryana, says officer

A total of 45,576 EVMs will be used in the state for the Lok Sabha elections and the by-election of Karnal Assembly constituency, Haryana Chief Electoral Officer Anurag Agarwal said on Wednesday.

Agarwal said 24,039 control units and 26,040 VVPAT machines will be used at 20,031 polling stations for the elections. Among the polling stations set up, 19,812 are permanent and 219 are auxiliary stations, he said.

There are 99 polling stations which will be operated entirely by women staff and 71 polling stations will be manned by Person with Disability (PwD) employees, he said.

There are 5,470 polling stations in urban areas and 14,342 polling stations have been set up in rural areas, he said.

Voting for 10 Lok Sabha seats in Haryana and bypoll for Karnal assembly seat will be held on May 25 in the sixth phase of general elections. Polling will be held from 7 am to 6 pm.

The state CEO said that 176 model polling stations have also been established.

In view of the prevailing severe heatwave conditions, all basic facilities and other necessary arrangements have been made in all the polling stations, he said.

The poll officer said 91 counting centres have been set up at a total of 44 locations in the state.

According to a statement, there are a total of 2,00,76,768 registered voters in the state.

These include 1,06,52,345 men, 94,23,956 women and 467 transgender voters, Agarwal said.

He said that 2,63,887 voters in the state are above 85 years of age while there are 1,50,277 PwD voters and 1,11,143 service voters.

Agarwal also said that he has directed concerned officials to ensure there are adequate number of wheelchairs at the polling stations so that PwD voters do not face any problem.

The CEO said that a provision to enable voting from home has been made for voters above 85 years of age and PwD voters.

"For this, the department employees get the consent of the voter by filling a 12D form. As many as 9,024 Form 12D have been approved by the Returning Officers. Out of these, 8324, that is about 92 per cent voters cast their vote and department employees collected their postal ballots," he said.

Apart from this, adequate arrangements for electricity, drinking water, and protection from heat have been made at the polling stations. Medical and paramedical staff will also be made on voting day.

Agarwal also held a review meeting regarding the arrangements for Lok Sabha elections with the District Election Officers through video conferencing from Chandigarh late in the evening on Tuesday.

The CEO said that during the Lok Sabha elections 2024, there will be two-level webcasting monitoring at polling stations, which includes state control rooms and district control rooms.

Apart from this, the Election Commission of India will also monitor through webcasting. If any anti-social elements is found hindering the election process on the polling day, strict action will be taken, he said.

He also said that a unique initiative has been taken to increase the voter turnout this time -- invitation letters are being sent to the voters like a wedding card. About 50 lakh such "invitation cards" have been printed, he said.

Booth Level Officers are giving this "invitation letter" to every family along with a voter slip, Agarwal said.