Delhi voters lauded special arrangements for them: poll panel CEO

NEW DELHI: In a departure from established polling practices, Delhi’s poll panel made a bouquet of arrangements this time to lure voters to polling booths, Ranbir Singh, Delhi’s Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), told this correspondent on Monday.

Coining the phrase Desh ka maha tyohar (country’s grandest festival) to describe the ongoing general elections, the CEO said the measures taken in the national capital were meant to draw an encouraging response from voters. He said the voters even lauded the special initiative taken in their interest.

“Voter awareness is an integral part of the polling process. Delhi has a diverse culture. We tried to make the polling process as inclusive as possible. This time, we had focused on third gender and homeless voters and had encouraged them to exercise their franchise,” Singh said.

While in some polling booths, toffees were handed out to voters to make them feel welcome, in others, they were greeted by the polling officials with flowers and balloons.

While there were provisions for wheel chairs for differently abled voters, as well as water, considering the stifling hot weather, at all polling booths, the model ones were provided with crèches for the benefit of mothers, who brought along their tots.

“This time, the polls, indeed, had the look of a festival. Earlier, the voters used to complain about standing in queues. However, the voters, themselves, said they were happy with the facilities provided to them this time. I also got a toffee as a gift for casting my vote,” Sishila Mishra, a 64-year-old voter from East Delhi, said.

In a first, 17 pink booths were put together to encourage more women to come out and vote. These booths helped polling officials draw good number of women voters, especially those belonging to the minority community, this time, he said.

The CEO further said as many as 51 centenarian voters exercised their franchise on Sunday. “Our officers went to their homes and escorted them to the booth and back. We even welcomed them with bouquets. We also arranged pick-up and drop facility for around 1,000 differently abled voters,” Singh said.

Talking about the polling day, the CEO said though it was a challenging task to ensure free and fair voting in the national capital, their effort bore fruits as polling went off peacefully, apart from some reports of EVM glitches and VVPAT flaws.

“Overall, it was a smooth ride. Some EVM glitches were reported during mock polls, but they were replaced in no time. EVMs were replaced in 700 polling stations,” he said.

Delhi recorded 60.50% polling, down from 65% in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.

“Though we had expected a better turnout this time, it didn’t happen. We’ll analyse why the polling percentage fell short of the 2014 figure,” Singh said.