KOCHI: Women voters outnumber men in the Ernakulam Assembly constituency which is all set for the Assembly bypoll on October 21. There are no sensitive polling booths in the constituency.
According to District Collector S Suhas, the electoral list has been released and handed over to candidates and political parties. There are 1,55,306 voters in the constituency. Among them, 79,119 are female voters while the number of male voters is 76,184. Among the 135 polling booths, 114 are in urban areas and 21 in rural areas. The polling booth at Anganavady Building, Kurungotta Island, has the lowest number of voters. The polling station with 271 voters is the only inaccessible booth in the constituency. The poll booth at IGM Public School, Elamakkara, has the highest number of voters at 1,474. There are nine candidates, including six independents, in Ernakulam Assembly Constituency.
Preparations for the by-election have been completed, District Collector Suhas and Election Commission-appointed General Observer Madhwi Kattaria told media persons in Kochi on Friday.“Appointment of polling officials, arrangement of vehicles, ballot papers and work of the strong room at Maharaja’s College, where the EVM machines have to be safely stocked, have been completed. An 80-member team of CISF will be guarding the strong room. All measures have been taken to ensure smooth polling and counting during the poll,” Suhas said.
Suhas said though only 668 officials are required for the poll process, around 3,800 officials are available in the district. Kataria said that all EVMs were tested and found to be foolproof. As many as 244 EVMs are available for the polling. The polling equipment will be distributed on October 20. Similarly, 4,480 ballot papers have reached the district treasury.
Green protocol
District collector has directed all candidates to use environment-friendly materials for their campaign work. The use of flex boards for the election campaign has been banned. Similarly, food should not be served on plastic disposable plates and glasses during the campaign. The collector also has directed that there should be a waste disposal facility in all the electoral booths. Green volunteers have been appointed to overlook the implementation of green protocol.
Enforcement activities
Enforcement activities, including measures, have been taken to put a curb on the flow of drugs and liquor during the poll days. There will a ban on the sale of liquor in the constituency for 48 hours till voting is completed.