BHOPAL: Serpentine queues of voters at many polling booths will be less in Madhya Pradesh, thanks to the Chief Executive Officer of MP’s (CEO-MP) initiative to introduce a token-based system.
Led by Joint CEO (Technical Operations) Vikas Narwal, a team has developed Android-based app ‘QLESS’ for the Booth Level Officers (BLOs) to not only facilitate queue-less voting but also help polling staff to accurately ascertain voting percentage as well as predict voting trend.
“Voters will reach a polling booth and register via the app with the BLOs. The app installed in cell-phones of the BLOs will help them issue tokens to registered voters. Instead of waiting in a queue, the voters can sit, wait under a tent and then exercise their franchise when the security personnel call out their token number,” Narwal told The Sunday Standard.
The app can work both in online and offline modes.
Hitherto, the use of the new system is optional. Its implementation depends on discretion of the collector (district election officer), as arrangements for voters’ seating under ‘shamiyanas’ (tents) will have to be made at booth-level.
Interestingly, the app’s manual variant was used at some polling booths of Neemuch district in 2013. But, 'QLESS' is not the only app designed for innovative practices, as Narwal’s team has developed another app, ‘Mat Pratishat’ (Polling Percentage), for hourly update of the poll percentage at polling booths in all districts.
“Unlike QLESS, the Mat Pratishat is a mandatory application. It will be help presiding officers to send the hourly voting data to the nerve centre in Bhopal. The portal will enable display of voting numbers on hourly basis along with projections of voting trends,” said Narwal.
As the poll panel is focusing on the People With Disabilities and the voters aged above 80 years (numbering around 5 lakh out of the total 5.04 crore-plus voters) on priority basis, the team has developed Sugamya Portal, which allows such voters to get registered for services such as wheel-chairs, Braille ballot papers, and sign language assistance.
“After registration via our portal, we’ll ensure that they get an entry pass to all polling booths in advance, enabling them to directly reach in their vehicles at the polling booth doorstep from where they will be provided with necessary assistance,” said Narwal.
Already around 2.5 lakh (50% of the PWD and elderly voters) have registered via the portal, and their entry passes will be issued from Monday onwards.
With this new initiative, Narwal expects a jump of around one per cent voting on November 28. “We expect 80-85 per cent voting by PWD and elderly voters this time that can translate in one per cent jump in overall voting percentage with their increased participation alone.”