HYDERABAD: For the convenience of voters, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has decided to set up a polling booth for every 1,500 voters. The state currently has 34,891 polling booths for 2,99,92,941 voters in its 119 Assembly constituencies.
The enrolment of voters, especially first-timers, is expected to push up the number of polling booths, given the new ECI norms.
As part of SSR-2, various activities like house-to-house survey by booth level officers, rationalization of polling booths and final publication of the electoral roll on October 4, 2023, will be taken up.
It is also noted that voters from each family enrolled in multiple polling booths in urban areas. It has become inconvenient to the voters. To avoid multiple polling booth allotments for single-family members, the GHMC commissioner, Hyderabad district election officer D.S. Lokesh Kumar, explained the concept of creating colony/basti-based polling stations. On a pilot basis, it will be taken up in certain wards under GHMC limits.
Of 119 Assembly constituencies, the majority of constituencies consist of around 300 polling booths each. The highest number of polling stations are in Serilingampally at 590, followed by Medchal 573, Quthbullapur 549, LB Nagar 545, Rajendranagar 535 and Maheshwaram 511.
Speaking to Deccan Chronicle, Telangana state Chief Electoral Officer Vikas Raj said that new polling booths will be set up after the completion of SSR-2. “By sticking to 1,500 voters for each polling station, we will set up additional polling stations for extra voters from the same locality”, he explained.
Replying to a question, he said that setting up of colony/basti-based polling stations will not be possible for coming Assembly elections.
Vikas Raj said that the updation of the voter's list is taken up on campaign mode across the state. Booth-level officers are surveying door-to-door to verify the voter lists for additions and deletions, he said. There is no problem in rural areas, where voters will be allotted for accessible polling booths, but in urban areas, the problem is arising, when the voters from a single family split into multiple polling stations, CEO said.
