Election Commission finds 280 poll booths critical'

Mumbai: In the first phase of the election, the state branch of the Election Commission of India (ECI) has identified more than 280 polling stations as critical. A senior official of the ECI said that these polling stations would be under the surveillance of video cameras and micro-observers. In addition, the live web cast of these polling stations will be carried out.

A senior official of the ECI said that 42 critical polling stations in Ramtek, 52 critical polling stations in Nagpur, 44 critical polling stations in Gondia, 17 critical polling stations in Gadchiroli, 39 critical polling stations in Chandrapur, and 88 critical polling stations in Yavatmal-Washim Lok Sabha constituencies had been identified. Thus, there were 282 critical polling stations identified in the first phase of the Lok Sabha election in the state.      

He said, “Precautions will be taken at the highest level in these critical polling stations. The web cast of these polling stations will be carried out.”

One-hundred-and-sixteen candidates are contesting from seven LS seats in the first phase of the election. There are 14,919 polling stations across these seats. About 1 crore, 30 lakh and 35 thousand voters will exercise their right to vote Thursday. The live web cast of 1,400 polling stations in the first phase will be carried out. The highest number of candidates is in the Nagpur LS constituency (30) while the lowest number of contestants is in the Gadchiroli-Chimur constituency (five).  

Additional chief electoral officer Dilip Sindhe said, “The live web cast of the polling stations will be carried out at 10 per cent of the total polling stations. This includes some of the critical polling stations.”

The live web cast will be available at the District Collector and Returning Officer, CEO office of Maharashtra and the Delhi office of the ECI.