Mammoth task for poll staff

PUNE, Aug 26: Conducting Lok Sabha elections is decidedly a difficult job. No less difficult is the smooth passage of the Assembly polls....

PUNE, Aug 26: Conducting Lok Sabha elections is decidedly a difficult job. No less difficult is the smooth passage of the Assembly polls. Just how difficult is the job when you are asked to conduct the Lok Sabha and Assembly polls simultaneously? Specially, when the last such exercise took place more than 20 years ago.

The figures would make your head spin when Lok Sabha and Assembly polls descend simultaneously, leaving the district administration grappling with the most mammoth polling exercise on its hands when 39.67 lakh voters cast their votes on September 11.

Go by the figures which flash 8211; 39.67 lakh voters figuring in the list as on January 1999, much more than the list in 1978. And it means 8211; 42,772 State Government employees, 5,487 polling centres, 16,772 ballot boxes and 1,227 vehicles to go through the exercise. It also means use of high tech gears including sophisticated smart mobile communication system for the first time, walkie talkie sets, wireless sets and even installing additional telephones.

The number of voters has increased by 67,857 in Junnar Assembly constituency, by 49,658 in Ambegaon, by 77,509 in Khed Alandi, by 83,683 in Maval, by 51,793 in Mulshi and by 50,191 in Bhor.

Increase in the number of voters was 1,01,16 in Bopodi Assembly constituency, 1,92,318 in Shivajinagar, 1,97,742 in Parvati, 11,672 in Kasba Peth, 79,879 in Bhavani Peth, and 11,87,155 in Pune Cantonment.

The number of voters has hiked by 3,92,884 in Haveli Assembly constituency, by 66,501 in Shirur, by 73,916 in Indapur, by 63,325 in Baramati and by 75,899 in Purandhar.

Besides population explosion, the district collectorate officials cited a number of reasons for the large increase in the number of voters. Migration of people from rural areas toward cities and relaxation in the age limit of the voters from 21 years to 18 years were major factors.

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Of the 16,458 ballot boxes required, 3,000 have been brought from out of Pune. A distribution plan of the ballot boxes of different sizes will be prepared on the basis of the size of ballot papers in each constituency.

As many as 140 trucks, 333 jeeps, 155 cars, four tempos, eight matadors 236 PMT buses, 51 PCMT buses, five launches, two tippers, four canters, two mini buses and 287 ST buses will be pressed into service during the polling.