Nellore: Technology helps to keep tab on polls
Details such as name of the constituency, polling station number, booth number and total votes polled were displayed on the screen.
Nellore: A need-specific software, 'MLC Election Monitoring System,' developed by software professionals from Narayana Institutes under the supervision of urban development minister P. Narayana came in handy for TD top brass, including ministers and even the Chief Minister, whose dashboard is linked to the software, to get a minute to minute update on the percentage of MLC polls on Thursday.
Mr Narayana himself was seen monitoring polling trends of East Rayalaseema segment consisting of Nellore, Prakasam and Chittoor districts on the widescreen in his camp office at Nellore while polling was in progress.
Details such as name of the constituency, polling station number, booth number, total votes and number of votes polled besides percentage were displayed on the screen making it easy to identify weak polling booths.
Narayana with his contact with party leaders across the region as a minister from Nellore district and in-charge minister for Chittoor district, made the TD legislators and constituency in-charges to jump into action and push the cadres in the field to mobilise voters to the polling booths wherever the poll percentage was not on par with other places. He told them that the CM was closely watching the trends and seeking clarification for poor turnout.
Interestingly it was TD agents in the polling stations giving the feedback after coming out of the booths for every 30 minutes or one hour about the number of votes polled with the help of the software loaded in their mobile phones. Agents of an independent candidate also extended their assistance to pass on the information in turns.
The whole exercise was carried out to ensure that the polling percentage crosses 65 per cent because TD leaders believe that their nominees for graduate seat Vemireddy Pattabhirami Red-dy and teachers segment A. Vasudeva Naidu will win if polling percentage crosses 60 per cent mark.
Claiming credit for 73 per cent polling in case of teachers and 48 per cent with regard to graduates at 4 pm, TD leaders expressed confidence of crossing 85 per cent and 60 per cent respectively and bagging the seats too.