All arrangements in place for free and fair elections in Bagalkot

Around 2.6 lakh voters will cast their vote in the Bagalkot bypolls on April 9. They include 1,32,775 women and 1,26,999 men. There are 5,776 more women than men eligible to choose their representative.

Officers have made all preparations to hold free and fair elections, Deputy Commissioner and District Electoral Officer Sangappa told reporters in Bagalkot on Monday.

“A total of 2,59,797 voters, 1,26,999 male and 1,32,775 female voters and 23 others, will vote in the byelections. There are 385 service voters, 170 postal ballots and 90 persons with disability voters,” he said.

Officers have set up 322 polling booths across the constituency that encompasses Bagalkot city and some villages surrounding it.

Two pink booths for women and one each for youth and persons with disability and theme-based polling booths have been set up to increase elector participation.

Each booth will have one presiding officer and three polling officers.

As many as 1,564 personnel have been appointed. Apart from this, micro observers and armed forces from the Police Department have been assigned to polling booths as per requirement.

Webcasting arrangements have also been made at all the 322 polling booths.

A mustering centre has been set up at the Government First Grade College in Sector No 43 in Navanagar in Bagalkot.

Since the implementation of the model code of conduct, officers have recovered ₹94.03 lakh in cash, saris worth ₹1.20 lakh and nine vehicles.

As many as 21 cases have been registered. Excise officers have seized 14,637.01 litres of liquor worth ₹39.73 lakh, while the police have seized 194.36 liters of liquor.

A rule curbing public lunch or events is being implemented starting Monday. There will be no public campaigning from Tuesday.

Once the campaign period ends, political officials, party workers and others who are not voters of this constituency must leave. Only five people will be allowed to go on door-to-door campaigning during the scheduled period.

He said that sale of liquor within a radius of 10 km around Bagalkot constituency will be completely stopped from 6 p.m. on Tuesday to midnight on Thursday.

Broadcasting of election-related matters on electronic media is prohibited 48 hours before the end of the period fixed for voting as per Section 126 of the Representation of the People Act 1951.

Candidates, organizations or any person who plan to publish election advertisements in newspapers on Wednesday and Thursday should mandatorily obtain prior permission from the designated district-level committee.

Violation will result in imprisonment which may extend to two years or fine and punishment. Television channels, radio, cable network and all digital media have been banned from publishing, discussing or analyzing opinion poll results for a period of 48 hours before polling.

On the evening of Thursday, the polling day, fairs have been banned across the district. Campaigning has been banned inside the polling booth or within 100 m of the polling booth.

Anyone other than officers on duty have been banned from using cellular phones and cordless phones. Campaign-related banners, loudspeakers, megaphones and candidates will not be allowed to use vehicles and build booths.

Zilla Panchayat Chief Executive Officer Shashidhar Kurer, Superintendent of Police Siddharth Goel, Excise Deputy Commissioner Thippeswamy D.N. and Additional Deputy Commissioner Ashok Teli were present.