BHOPAL: Possibly taking a cue from the country’s COVID-19 vaccination registration system, the chief electoral officer’s (CEO-MP) office is working on a similar model to increase voting in urban-centric constituencies during the coming assembly polls in Madhya Pradesh.
The CEO-MP’s office is working at developing an app-driven system, which if put into practice, will enable voters at select polling booths in urban constituencies (particularly those which have historically reported low voter turnout), to book voting slots in advance just like the advance registration of slots under the country’s CoWin app and portal-powered COVID-19 vaccination program.
“Detailed analysis of the 2018 assembly polls voting percentages, suggests that voters in many predominantly urban assembly segments are sluggish when it comes to exercising franchise, when compared to polling behaviour of the electorate in largely rural and semi-urban seats. We’re hence working on an app which will enable voters at select polling booths/stations in some urban assembly constituencies to book their voting slots in advance and reach there at the booked time slot to vote,” CEO-MP Anupam Rajan told TNIE.
“Once the app is developed, we’ll start working on other modalities. The system, once developed, is likely to be put in place at select booths of select seats, which have in the past been most slow in voting. If the effort clicks and helps in increasing the poll percentage in the lowest voting urban seats, then it might be expanded further in the 2024 national (Lok Sabha) elections,” he maintained.
The CEO-MP believed that if the system is finally put in place and actually works, then it will reduce waiting time at polling booths, particularly for voters, like housewives, the elderly and even single parents of small children, who cannot be out-of-home for long.
Importantly, a lowdown at the 2018 assembly polls statistics reveals that among the 10 assembly seats which reported the lowest voting, five seats are predominantly urban seats. Those seats include Gwalior-East which reported 58.18% voter turnout, Gwalior-South (60.45%), Govindpura-Bhopal (61.19%), Bhopal Madhya (59.55%) and Bhind (58.70%).
The Election Commission will also make provision for voters aged above 80 years and persons with disabilities (PwDs) to vote from their homes if they are unable to go out to exercise their franchise.
Under the vote-from-home (VFH) facility more than 12.10 lakh voters, including 7.30 lakh voters aged above 80 years and over 4.80 lakh PwDs, will be eligible to vote from home if they desire to exercise that option.
The polling parties, carrying a completely secured ballot box and also provision for videography of the entire vote-from-home process will go to the concerned voter’s home and enable the voter to cast the ballot a week before the actual poll.
As per the latest figures available from the CEO-MP office, the state presently houses over 5.41 crore voters, including more than 2.80 crore male and over 2.61 crore female voters, besides 1,257 third-gender voters. Those aged above 80 years and persons with disabilities form 1.35% and 0.89% respectively.
Voters in urban segments are sluggish: Analysis
Detailed analysis of the 2018 assembly polls voting percentages, suggests that voters in many predominantly urban assembly segments are sluggish when it comes to exercising franchise when compared to the polling behaviour of the electorate in largely rural and semi-urban seats. We’re hence working on an app which will enable voters at select polling booths/stations in some urban assembly constituencies to book their voting slots in advance and reach there at the booked time slot to vote,” CEO-MP Anupam Rajan told this newspaper. The CEO-MP’s office is working on developing an app-driven system, which if put into practice, will enable voters at polling booths in urban constituencies.