Rajarajeshwari Nagar by-election: Number of booths increased

Bengaluru: Rajarajeshwari Nagar constituency is one among the four largest assembly segments in Bengaluru, with over 4.54 lakh voters. The constituency, which is a residential and commercial suburb, also has a number of educational institutions. Now in the wake of COVID19 and rising corona cases in the city, the Central Election Commission has announced the Rajarajeshwari Nagar (RR Nagar) by-election dates. The Rajarajeshwari Nagar poll observes an increase in the number of polling booths from 381 to 688.

The Bengaluru City District Election Officer N Manjunatha Prasad on Wednesday said, "Many preventive measures are being taken, including allowing voting by postal ballot for corona-infected people. The appointment of a health officer for the by-election for the Rajarajeshwari Nagar constituency and mandatory thermal scanning and gloves will be provided to each voter on the ballot."

The Rajarajeshwari Nagar by-election in the Vidhana Sabha constituency will be held during the coronavirus pandemic begun to increase in the state. The Election Commission has directed enforcement on the Code of Conduct and the Prevention of Coronavirus Infection, and many measures are being taken accordingly. According to the reports from the Election Commission, there are 381 booths in the Rajarajeshwari Nagar and 307 booths with more than 1,000 voters.

The reports from the commission confirmed that these 307 booths will be doubled and the number of booths have increased to double with 688 booths. Manjunath Prasad said that "it has been instructed to build a booth wherever possible. The Election Commission has announced the appointment of a health officer for the election. The health officer will be in charge of the coronavirus prevention program at the booth counting center."

Only two people are allowed at the time of nomination process

Five people were previously allowed into the area inside the nodal officer's office during the nomination process. Now things have changed as in the COVID context it is limited to only two people. The number of the nomination procession vehicle is also limited to two. The Commission has directed to limit the number of people during the election campaign of candidates and public meetings. Manjunath Prasad made it clear that action will be taken accordingly as these rules will be followed strictly.

Online filing for Nomination

"Electoral candidates are allowed to submit their affidavit and deposit online. But the affidavit has to be submitted directly to the nodal officer. The overall election process will require about 10,000 people, including booth officers and security guards. They all will be provided with a mask, gloves, face shield and sanitizer, "Manjunath Prasad said.

Token system

A help center will be set up in each booth level. A token will be issued if there is a congestion on the ballot. Voters who have received the token and those who have been observed with a rise in temperature during thermal scanning will be allowed to vote during the last one hour.

Thermal scanning is mandatory for those who vote. Only one voter is allowed inside the booth at a time. Use of gloves is mandatory for every voter at signature and EVM voting. Re-usable gloves are arranged in the booth. He said that the marking would be done six feet for maintaining social distance.

Voter confused on constituency boundary

The Rajarajeshwari Nagar is one among the largest constituencies in Bengaluru, it has a peculiar problem with most residents getting confused over the boundary as a section of area falls under the Rajarajeshwari Nagar constituency and the other in Yeshwanthpur. Earlier there were separate constituencies for Yeshwanthpur and Rajarajeshwari Nagar. After Rajarajeshwari Nagar was brought under Yeshwanthpur constituency, there was confusion. RR Nagar further got divided into RR Nagar sub-division and Kengeri sub-division. And the electricity board which was earlier a part of RR Nagar later became a part of Kengeri due to the sub-division of localities.