Around 35.79 lakh voters are expected to exercise their franchise at 4,058 polling stations for three Lok Sabha and 15 Assembly constituencies in the district on Thursday.
According to the final electoral rolls, of the total voters, 35.78 lakh are men, 18.02 lakh women and 197 third gender. The polling will take place from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. in the district and from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. in Araku and Paderu Assembly segments in the Visakhapatnam Agency.
‘Problematic’ stations
As many as 34 nominees are in fray for Visakhapatnam, Anakapalle and Araku (ST) Lok Sabha constituencies and 176 candidates are contesting from the Assembly segments. As many as 614 polling stations in Araku and Paderu segments and 1,053 in the other areas in the district have been identified as ‘problematic’
Tight security has been ensured at the areas identified as ‘sensitive’ and those vulnerable to left wing extremism, including the ones along the Andhra-Odisha border (AOB). Greyhounds, CRPF and Andhra Pradesh Special Police (APSP) have been deployed to ensure smooth polling.
2,130 micro-observers
As many as 399 sectoral and an equal number of route officers, 4,553 polling officers and assistant polling officers each, 13,663 other polling officials and 2,130 micro-observers have also been appointed.
For the Lok Sabha constituencies, 4,058 ballot units, control units and VVPATs have been readied while 4,329 ballot units and 4,058 VVPATs have been assigned to the Assembly constituencies. Reserve units are also kept on the standby mode.
Expenditure monitoring committee has seized ₹8.13 crore and 62,164 litres of liquor have been confiscated by the nodal officials. The Media Certification and Monitoring Committee has booked 19 cases of violation of poll code, of which 13 have been disposed off.
Meanwhile, Andhra University Engineering College grounds became a beehive of activity on the eve of the general elections on Wednesday as hundreds of poll personnel arrived there to collect the election material.
Poll material shifted
A large number of buses were parked at there to shift the men and material to the respective polling stations. “It took nearly two days for us to make arrangements for distribution of the election material. We slept hardly for an hour on Tuesday night and resumed work by 4 a.m. on Wednesday,” an employee said.
The personnel assigned to nine Assembly constituencies of Visakhapatnam North, East, West and South, Gajuwaka, Bheemunipatnam, Anakapalle, Elamanchili and Pendurti reported at the AUEC grounds.
As many as 14,442 poll personnel will conduct the elections at 2,407 polling stations set up in the nine Assembly segments.
After marking their attendance, the personnel collected the election material including EVMs and VVPATs and boarded special buses for their respective polling stations after lunch. Though all the buses were scheduled to leave by 1 p.m., those started the journey around 3 p.m.
As many as 60 buses were engaged to ferry 2,000 personnel to 274 polling stations in Pendurti Assembly constituency alone, Visakhapanam RDO and Returning Officer Tej Bharat said. For every polling station, a micro-observer has been appointed to monitor the proceedings.