Kerala all set for smooth polls: Chief electoral officer Teeka Ram Meena

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Officials associated with conduct of elections did a special crisis management move last week to obtain 5,000 additional VVPAT machines and 3,000 more control units for Kerala after glitches were reported during the commissioning of ballot and control units. Chief electoral officer (CEO)

Teeka Ram Meena

said that district collectors panicked a bit after there were failures in setting up control and ballot units in some places and additional units had to be procured to resolve the crisis.

"The reserve was coming down and we coordinated with various departments to airlift 3,000 control units from Mumbai and 5,000 VVPAT machines were brought from Hyderabad. We had to be ready with additional set as these units are extremely sensitive to light and now we have a sufficient back up in case of failures," he said.

Kannur

was one district where many control units went haywire during commissioning. The state has a total of 35,193 VVPAT machines which is more than the requirement for 24,970 polling booths. Additional machines have been stocked as a replacement option; 44,427 ballot units and 32,746 control units are also in place for elections.

The public campaign will conclude on Sunday at 6pm. All arrangements have been made to ensure free, fair and fearless election, said Meena. The state has 2.61 crore voters, of which 1.26 crore are men and 1.34 crore are women.

Meena added that it was a proud achievement to have 174 transgenders enrolled on voters list across the state.

Malappuram

has the highest number of voters (31,36,191) while Wayanad has the lowest number (5,94,177). A total of 2,88,191 new voters have been enrolled in the list.

Special arrangements will be made for 1,35,357 disabled voters. Ramp facility and transportation from home to polling booth and back will be ensured. Their locations have been flagged for conveyance facilities. Volunteers will be deployed at polling booths to help them, said Meena.

Braille voters' slips will be introduced on a pilot basis in Thiruvananthapuram. "A dummy ballot paper of braille script will be arranged at all polling stations. There will be two samples of braille scripts; one with presiding officer and another with polling officer," he said.

The CEO said Kerala earned the praise of election commission because it trying to implement green protocol. Since March 11, 15 lakh banners, posters, hoardings and wall writings have been removed in state. The state has also recorded the highest number of complaints in the country on C-Vigil mobile app (51,000).

As many as 11,140 polling officers will be deployed for elections and mock poll will be held at 6am on election day.