Following a month of high-decibel, mega-stakes campaigns by major political parties, a total of 2,88,19,342 crore eligible electors from 14 constituencies are set to vote in Karnataka which is going to polls in the second phase of the 18th Lok Sabha elections today, April 26. The State is voting in two phases, and 14 more constituencies from the northern half of the State will vote in the third phase, scheduled on May 7.
In the current Phase Two, the constituencies that will vote include Udupi-Chikkamagaluru, Hassan, Dakshina Kannada, Chitradurga, Tumakuru, Mandya, Mysuru, Chamarajanagar, Bengaluru Rural, Bengaluru North, Bengaluru Central, Bengaluru South, Chickballapur and Kolar.
Also read: How to check your polling booth
A total of 30,602 polling booths, including 25 auxiliary booths, have been set up. Around 1.40 lakh polling officers, 5,000 micro observers and 50,000 civil police, apart from 65 companies of CRPF and Reserved Armed Forces from other States have been deployed in the 30,602 polling stations.
The Election Commission of India has made elaborate arrangements for the smooth conduct of polls. Apart from conducting electoral awareness to deal with urban apathy and increase voter turnout, the EC has initiated measures to ensure that the extreme heatwave conditions do not affect voter turnout, especially senior citizens and persons with disabilities (PwD).
Also read: Know your voting rights
Cooling devices such as fans, special medical kits to manage dehydration and sunstroke, adequate shade structures, such as tents, canopies or umbrellas, with provision for chairs, will be available for the comfort of voters and polling personnel. One ambulance will also be mapped to every 10-15 polling booths.
To help voters navigate their way to the polling station, the Election Commission has distributed voters’ slips with QR codes in 33 urban constituencies. Voters can scan the QR code and find their way to the polling station. The Election Commission has also come out with Chunavana mobile app, which will offer users polling booth location, navigation to the polling booth, candidate information, polling officers’ details, the queue at the polling station on a real-time basis, available parking space and nearby emergency facilities.
Find more information about your polling stations at https://electoralsearch.eci.gov.in.