Hyderabad: To hold the elections in 15 assembly constituencies of Hyderabad District, Election officials have procured an additional 4,368 balloting units (BUs), one of the main components of the electronic voting machines, to hold elections in the 15 Assembly constituencies in Hyderabad district.
Poll officials had earlier procured 4,978 BUs, and the additional units were procured in view of the larger number of candidates in the fray.
Every EVM can hold maximum of 64 candidates (including the None Of The Above, NOTA, option), and there is provision for 16 candidates in each BU (including NOTA). If the total number of candidates exceeds 16, a second BU is linked in series to the first BU. A third BU is attached if the number exceeds 32.
“The BUs have been procured from Electronics Corporation of India Limited (ECIL), Hyderabad,” said an official from Hyderabad district election authority (DEA).
In Hyderabad district, Nampally, Jubilee Hills, Yakutpura, Karwan, Musheerabad and Malakpet require more than two BUs. Nampally has 34 candidates, followed by Musheerabad (31), Yakutpura (27) and Malakpet (27).
In addition to an increase in the number of candidates, the number of electors and polling stations has also increased. With the number of electors increasing from 44,42,458 to 45,36,852, auxiliary polling stations have been set up.
Earlier there were 3,986 polling stations and the number has increased to 4,119.
Commissioning of EVMs is underway in Hyderabad district, besides making arrangements related to postal ballots.
In Hyderabad district, 21,916 people have opted for the postal ballot. Among them, 9,552 are police personnel and 11,000 are presiding officer (POs) and assistant POs.
