To ensure fear-free and peaceful voting in Haryana, the state Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Anurag Agarwal on Sunday said that besides State Police, companies of Central Armed Police Forces are also being deployed with readiness. So far, 15 companies of CAPF have arrived. The Union Home Ministry has earlier been requested to deploy 200 more companies of CAPF in the run-up to Lok Sabha election in the State.
Agarwal, who is also the chairman of the State Committee formed on the deployment of CAPF during the Lok Sabha elections, said that conducting impartial and transparent elections is the priority of the Election Commission. Holding a review meeting with department officers regarding election management, he said that two companies each of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) will be deployed for Ambala, Hisar, Sirsa, and Rohtak Lok Sabha constituencies.
Similarly, for the Sonipat Lok Sabha constituency, two companies of Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) will be deployed, and one company each of ITBP will be deployed for Kurukshetra, Karnal, Bhiwani-Mahendragarh, Gurgaon, and Faridabad Lok Sabha constituencies. In the meeting, it was also apprised during the meeting that the companies of Central Armed Police Forces will be stationed at the district headquarters.
CEO said that a total of 19,812 polling stations have been set up at 10,363 locations across the state, including 13,588 in rural areas and 6,224 in urban areas. There are polling booths at 2,400 locations in cities and 7,963 locations in villages. State has 1,99,35,770 registered voters, so far. The citizens should make their voter IDs at the earliest, so everyone can participate in the upcoming elections. The deadline for voter registration is April 26, 2024. The final list of voters in Haryana is expected to be declared on May 10. The number of voters in the 18 to 19 age group is 3,65,504, who will vote for the first time, he added.
“About 70 per cent voter turnout was recorded in the state, which was higher than the national average. This time our target is to achieve a more than 80 per cent voter turnout in the State,” he added. Agarwal said that the notification will be issued on April 29, and May 6 is the last date for filing nominations. Nomination scrutiny will be done by May 7 and Candidates can withdraw their nominations by May 9, he added.
ECI’s mobile apps provide latest information on elections for voters
To facilitate voters in Haryana, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has launched several mobile apps that are beneficial for both voters and candidates. By using these apps, voters and candidates can easily access the latest information related to elections and find solutions to their problems from the ease of their homes, said official spokesperson of the State Election Commission.
According to the ECI's guidelines, any youth aged 18 or above who wishes to get their vote registered can apply online on https://voters.eci.gov.in/. Similarly, ECI has introduced a mobile app called C-Vigil, through which, any citizen can send their complaint by taking a photo or video if they notice any violation of the Model Code of Conduct, which will be resolved by the Election Office within 100 minutes.
Spokesperson said that the ECI has also created an app named Candidate Nomination for submitting nomination forms online. For returning officers, the Commission has prepared software ‘Encore’ which contains necessary data of candidates. ECI has also created an ‘Affidavit Portal’ where details of a candidate's movable and immovable property, affidavits, can be viewed online, he added.
Spokesperson added that the ECI has started a service through the Booth app to digitally identify voters. Voters can download their voter slips by linking the Voter Helpline app to their EPIC card. The Voter Turnout app displays the number of votes cast in proportion to the total population, he added.
