All arrangements completed for Lok Sabha polls in Kerala on Friday

Thiruvananthapuram: All preparations have been made for the smooth conduct of the polls in Kerala on Friday.Voting for all the 20 Lok Sabha constituencies in the state in the second phase of the Lok Sabha elections will begin today at 7 am. Polling will continue till 6 pm.

There are 2,77,49,159 voters in the state this time. Of these, 1,43,33,499 are women.Of the total voters, 5,34,394 are first-time voters in the age group of 18-19 years. There are also 2,64,232 differently-abled voters and 367 transgender voters in the state.

The Chief Electoral Officer appealed to all voters, irrespective of age and gender, to exercise their right to vote and participate in the festival of democracy.A total of 194 candidates are in the fray in 20 constituencies in the state.

All arrangements have been made to ensure smooth polling at the polling booths and to ensure that the voting machines are safely transported to strong rooms after the polling.

A total of 1,01,176 polling personnel have been deployed for the polling process at 25,231 booths set up at 13,272 centres in the state. The polling process will be controlled by four officials, including the presiding officer, at a booth.

There are 437 booths controlled only by women, 31 booths controlled by youth below 30 years of age and six booths controlled by differently-abled employees in the state. There are also 316 ethnic polling booths and 131 theme-based booths.

Ramps and wheelchairs have been set up at the booths for differently-abled voters. Voting machines in Braille script have also been provided for the visually impaired.There will be a special queue facility at the booths for differently-abled voters and senior citizens. In addition, a sign language facility and travel facility for differently-abled voters have also been arranged.

A total of 30,238 electronic voting machines (EVMs) are being used in the state in the Lok Sabha elections this year. In case of operational failure of any machines, the reserve machines will be delivered through the respective sector officers instead.

The voting machines have been brought to the polling booths after completing the preliminary testing, three phases of randomization and mock polling. The polling will begin at 6 am on Friday after a mock poll is conducted again in the presence of representatives of political parties at the polling booths to ensure the safety of the machines.

As many as 66,303 security personnel have been deployed at polling booths, distribution centres and strong rooms to ensure a smooth voting process.

The Rapid Action Force has also been deployed at all police stations for security. Special security measures have also been taken in Maoist-affected areas involving central forces to ensure that voters cast their votes fearlessly.

To ensure free and transparent polling, the Chief Electoral Officer said that a webcasting system has been put in place for real-time monitoring in all booths in eight districts of the state and 75 percent of booths in the remaining six districts.

The real-time monitoring system has been implemented in all booths in Kasargod, Kannur, Wayanad, Malappuram, Kozhikode, Palakkad, Thrissur and Thiruvananthapuram districts.

Cameras have also been installed outside the booths to control crowding at polling stations with multiple booths.

According to the Chief Electoral Officer, the webcasting facility has been introduced to ensure a transparent election by preventing booth capturing, money distribution and bogus voting. Webcasting has also been arranged in the affected booths. In the office of the Chief Electoral Officer and the control rooms set up under the ROs of 20 Lok Sabha constituencies,

A similar monitoring system has been set up in strong rooms and counting centres.