More booths, less voters to implement COVID-19 measures

Chennai

Based on the last week discussion and recent instructions from the election commission of India, Tamil Nadu chief electoral officer Sathyabrata Sahoo has directed the district collectors to submit a list of new polling booths. These new booths are likely to come in areas in cities and towns to decongest the crowd during the polling time, public election department sources told DT Next.

The district election officers have been asked to increase the number of booths, in cities and congested pockets. Most of the new additional booths are likely in Chennai, Kancheepuram, Tiruvallur, Vellore and Coimbatore where the voter population is more and with the political parties requesting for early elections in April, the collectors are likely to send the reports soon, sources said.

When contacted CEO Sahoo, he said that the election commission was taking every step to reduce the biotic pressure and the decongest the polling booths. ECI has said the number of voters in each booth will be restricted to 1,000 due to Covid-19 just like in Bihar.

“During the previous 2016 state assembly election, over 65,000 polling booths were set up for the polls and there were booths with 1500 voters in the registry. This time the number of booths could increase by 30 per cent. We are planning to increase the number of polling booths to an all-time high of 95,000 and the collectors have been asked to submit a report in this regard,” the CEO told DT Next.

“It will be good if more polling booths are opened and the public will be eager to vote if there is no queue in the polling station,” said A Suganth, a resident of Perambur Assembly constituency.