The district election officers hope that at least 60% voters turn up on April 29, the fourth and final phase of Lok Sabha polls in the State. To encourage women voters, 36 polling centres, called Sakhi Matdan Kendras, will be operated entirely by women staff and police personnel.
Shivaji Jondhale, district collector, Mumbai (city), said a selfie point will be created outside polling booths so that first-time voters can send pictures with their inked fingers to a WhatsApp number circulated by the State Election Commission. He said, “These youngsters will act as ambassadors for the next elections.”
Sachin Kurve, district collector, Mumbai (suburban) said under no circumstances mobile phones would be allowed inside the polling booths. He said, “At the 26 Sakhi Matdan Kendras in the suburban district, we will be providing kokum sharbat to all voters and sanitary napkins to women voters.”
To tighten security, over 47,000 election staff and 40,400 police personnel will be deployed across the city with at least one constable posted at each polling booth. Of the 10,073 polling booths, 325 have been declared as critical. At these centres, additional police personnel will be deployed. The city has over one crore registered voters across its six Lok Sabha constituencies, and Mr. Kurve said through sustained efforts three lakh voters have been added across the four suburban constituencies since September 1.
Mr. Jondhale said the Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) system would ensure that there are no complaints of votes going to other parties. He said, “Once a button is pressed on the EVM, the symbol of the party will appear on the VVPAT and display it for seven seconds. This will inform voters that the vote has gone to the party they have chosen.”
Mr. Jondhale said if an EVM is found to be faulty, a complaint has to be registered with the presiding officer, and the machine would be replaced. He said with the help of GPS, poll authorities would be tracking the working of the EVMs.
The officials said that since the model code of conduct came into effect, ₹10.51 crore in cash was seized in 35 separate incidents. Also, 2,648 litres of illegal liquor worth over ₹10 lakh was seized in the city.
In the lead up to the polls, a blanket ban on sale of liquor has been imposed from Saturday evening till the end of polling on Monday.