Bangalore, the technology capital of India, is well known for using technology in various walks of life including the e-governance initiatives of the state government. Now, the state election commission has joined the bandwagon by coming forward to use technology in conducting fair and free elections in the state.
In its endeavour to conduct free and fair elections for the ensuing parliament elections in the state, the Election Commission (EC) is for the first time using GPS-enabled mobile handsets to monitor and track the most sensitive polling stations in the state. “We are conducting this experiment on a pilot basis and based on its success it will be extended across the country,” said M N Vidyashankar, chief electoral officer.
The election commission has distributed around 30 handsets to sector officers spread across various parliamentary constituencies in the state. With the help of these handsets the Election Commission can communicate to its designated officers and rush them to places where violation of model code of conduct or electoral malpractices are committed, he said.
Addressing a press conference, here today, Vidya shankar said the GPS-enabled handsets will help monitor at least 450 most sensitive polling stations across the state.
The Election Commission has also introduced for the first time a web reporting system through which the EC will collect information on code violations from all districts online. The system enables collation of information related to missing voters in electoral rolls, violation of model code of conduct, among others. If any officer fails to send the information on time, there is a provision to issue a warning to that officer online.
The Election Commission has appreciated state election officials for implementing this system and is planning to introduce this system across the country.
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It also allows uploading of newspaper and TV clippings that can attract the attention of election commission on the system. In the next stage the steps are being taken to feed information related to voting percentages on an hourly basis, he said.
Vidyashankar said the current election process will see an expenditure of Rs 10,000 crore across the country, while the official expenses will be to the tune of Rs 1,800 crore, nearly double when compared to elections in 2004.
Ever since the model code of conduct came into force in the country, the Election Commission has seized illegal liquor worth over Rs 70 lakh in the state. The commission has seized 255 case of liquor worth Rs 7.25 lakh at Sankeshwar in Belgaum district this morning, he said.