BENGALURU: Elections to the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) will be held on July 28, the State Election Commission (SEC) announced on Thursday.
The model code of conduct came into force immediately after the announcement, and will be in force till August 1.
Announcing the calendar of events, state Election Commissioner P N Srinivasachari said July 28 (Tuesday) would be declared a holiday in Bengaluru. He said the elections would be conducted in accordance with the ward reservation list announced by the government on April 13.
As many as 71.22 lakh people are eligible to vote at 6,733 polling stations across 198 wards.
A maximum of 1,500 people can vote at a polling station. If the numbers exceed 1,500, auxiliary stations and help desks will be set up.
EVMs in All Booths: Electronic voting machines will be used, and the None of the Above (NOTA) option, which enables voters to reject all candidates, is not available this time. “We are all geared up with 9,309 control units and 11,635 ballot units,” he said.
The Election Commission estimates the cost of conducting the elections at about Rs 20 crore.
“We have already given Rs 12 crore to the BBMP and the Deputy Commissioner of Bengaluru Urban to conduct the elections. The remaining amount will be given shortly,” he told reporters.
A media advisory committee will be constituted to scrutinise the advertisements issued by the parties and the candidates. “During the 2010 BBMP elections, more than 1,500 candidates did not file election accounts and we had barred them from contesting elections for three years,” Srinivasachari said.
Asked about the Assembly session starting from Monday, Srinivasachari said there would be no conflict with the code of conduct “unless they announce something for the city”.
On the Field: The BBMP commissioner co-ordinates and supervises all work in connection with the conduct of the elections.
Under him, the Election Commission has appointed four District Election Officers (DEO), 28 Additional DEOs, 53 Returning Officers (RO), 53 Assistant ROs, 198 Additional ROs, 27 Electoral Registration Officers, 63 Assistant Registration Electoral Officers, 5 Special Observers, 27 Observers and 88 Nodal Officers.
The elections call for 7,429 Presiding Officers and 2,262 Polling Officers.
Turnout Question: Voter turnout in Bengaluru Urban has always been poor. In 2001, in 100 wards, only 44.32 per cent of the 26.92 lakh voters exercised their franchise.
Overall, in 2010, of the 69.77 lakh voters, 44.04 per cent voted. In 2010, the highest and lowest voting per cent was at Varthur and Bellandur wards, with 61.59 and 29.26 per cent, respectively.
Interestingly, both wards fall under the Mahadevapura Assembly constituency, where techies live in huge numbers.
“As July 28 falls on Tuesday, some people could take leave on Monday to enjoy a long weekend,” an election official said. Srinivasachari, however, said the Information Department would be roped in to bring about awareness among the voters.