Lokmat News Network
Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar:
The countdown has begun for the election of 115 corporators from 29 prabhags in the city, with voting scheduled to be held on January 15. More than one million voters are expected to cast their votes across 1,267 polling stations set up by the election branch of the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Municipal Corporation (CSMC).
CSMC Administrator G. Sreekanth said that all required ballot units (BUs) and control units (CUs) have been sealed and secured in strong rooms. “There are 28 prabhags comprising four wards each, while only one prabhag (No. 29) has three wards. A total of 859 candidates are in the fray. For this, we will deploy 4,162 ballot units and 1,267 control units,” he said.
He added that instructions issued by the State Election Commission (SEC) regarding Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) have been strictly followed. “Candidate lists on EVMs have not been broken. There are 12 prabhags where four EVMs will be placed each, 13 prabhags with three EVMs each, and four prabhags where two EVMs will be installed. Each EVM can accommodate 16 candidates, including the None of the Above (NOTA) option,” Sreekanth explained. He noted that only in Prabhag No. 24 was the candidate list split; otherwise, three EVMs would have been required.
Simple and Colour-Coded Voting Process
The election will follow a simple, colour-coded voting system. Four coloured ballot papers representing different social reservation categories will be pasted on the EVMs in each prabhag — White (Category A), Pink (B), Yellow (C) and Blue (D).
It is mandatory for voters to first cast their vote in Category A. Subsequently, voters are free to choose candidates from Categories B, C and D in any order of their choice. After pressing the button for the fourth category or time, a beeping sound along with a blinking red light will confirm that the voting process has been completed successfully. In the absence of this sound, it will indicate that voting has not been completed, election officials said.
NOTA Provision Explained
According to election sources, if a voter chooses to vote in only one or two categories and refuses to vote or press the NOTA button in the remaining categories, the presiding officer is authorised by the SEC to cover the already cast votes with cloth or paper and press the NOTA button for the remaining categories in the presence of polling agents.
No Candidate Photos on Ballot Papers
The ballot papers pasted on EVMs will not carry photographs of candidates. Instead, they will display the serial number, name of the candidate, political party and election symbol. While some citizens have expressed concern that this process may be time-consuming—especially for women voters, senior citizens and persons with disabilities—election officials dismissed these apprehensions, stating that each voter would take only 7–8 seconds to complete the process.
1,267 Polling Booths, 42 Declared Sensitive
A total of 1,267 polling booths have been set up across 363 buildings in different parts of the city. Of these, 42 booths have been identified as sensitive. These are located in areas including Jinsi, Pundaliknagar, Begumpura, Mukundwadi, N-9, N-7, N-6, Town Centre CIDCO, Rauza Baugh, Satara, Padegaon, Jalna Road, Baijipura (Sanjaynagar and Indiranagar), Naregaon, Chikalthana, Rajnagar, Bharatnagar, Khara Kunwa and Sanskritik Mandal–Khadkeshwar.
“All polling booths will be under CCTV surveillance. Police and civic officials will maintain strict vigilance at sensitive booths with enhanced security arrangements,” Sreekanth said.