BENGALURU: Preparations were in full swing in Kundgol in Dharwad district, and Chincholi in Kalaburagi district, for the by-election on Sunday.
Polling stations were identified and security ramped up in both constituencies, with storage points for the EVMs also planned to the last detail.
In Kundgol, deputy commissioner and chief election officer Deepa Cholan inspected the preparations at the 214 polling booths set up for a total of 1.89 lakh voters who will make their choice on Sunday. In all, 968 officers have been identified and deployed exclusively to look after the booths, and will work in 242 teams spread across the constituency.
In Kundgol taluk, 42 routes have been marked to distribute voting machines, which will be carried to the polling station in 41 vehicles -- 30 buses, 8 cabs and 3 jeeps. All these vehicles are backed with GPS and sufficient security.
With a view to tighten security, 2 Deputy SPs, 6 inspectors, 17 sub-inspectors, 41 assistant sub-inspectors, 114 head constables, 216 Home Guards, 68 paramilitary personnel and 18 police platoons have been deployed.
Chincholi constituency in Kalaburagi district will have a total of 241 polling stations. Officials said that in all, 964 polling officers have been deployed in teams comprising of one presiding officer, one assistant presiding officer, one polling officer and one helper in each polling booth. Apart from this, 15 per cent of additional polling staff are in reserve.
Chincholi constituency is facing by-elections for the first time in its history, after former MLA Umesh Jadhav quit his post in March this year, necessitating by-elections to the constituency.