Eligible have time till April 11 to include names in voter list, says CEO

BENGALURU: Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Manoj Kumar Meena on Wednesday said that voters have time till April 11 to get their names included in the voter list by submitting Form 6.

Addressing a press conference after the Election Commission of India announced the Assembly poll schedule, he said postal ballot from home for those aged over 80 years was allowed during the bypolls in Belagavi, Sindhagi and Hanagal and added that this is the first time the facility is being extended during the Assembly polls.

He said there are 12,15,142 voters who are aged over 80 and added that their votes will be collected by going door to door. Preparations will be made 3-4 days ahead, he noted.

The CEO pointed out that Bangalore South is the biggest Assembly constituency with 8,77,247 voters while Sringeri is the smallest with 1,68,564 voters. New M-3 electronic voting machines (EVMs) will be brought from Hyderabad for the election and there will be 2040 flying squads to check election fraud, he said.

As far as security is concerned, Manoj Kumar Meena said the KSRP, along with central forces, will be deployed and 942 checkposts have been set up along the borders with Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. So far, cash, drugs and liquor worth Rs 58 crore have been seized. While the police department has made seizures of Rs 34 crore, the Excise Deparment has seized liquor worth Rs 10 crore. Central agencies like the Income Tax and Commercial Taxes departments, revenue, narcotics, central GST teams have also made seizures and 1,985 FIRs have been filed, he added.