The Hindu

• Voters should carry any of the 19 documents specified
• Postal ballots cast on Thursday September 27
• In all, 568 booths set up in the district

Mangalore, Sep 28: When you go to vote in the urban local body elections on Friday September 28, the good old ballot boxes will welcome you. The modern electronic voting machines (EVMs) will be conspicuous by their absence because of a decision not to use them this time.

People have got accustomed to EVMs, having used them in the past few elections. It was as if the ballot papers and boxes were a thing of the past. Voters had EVMs in mind this time too. But they will have to cast their votes on ballot papers, fold them and put them into ballot boxes, as they had been doing traditionally.

Authorities in Mangalore said the State Election Commission had directed that only ballot papers and boxes be used this time. One of the reasons being given is the huge number of EVMs required as elections are being held to almost all the urban local bodies in the State, simultaneously.

Voters will have to carry any of the 19 documents, notified already, to establish their identity.

Postal ballot cast

Some Government officials going for polling duty outside their voting constituency limits, exercised their franchise through postal ballot on Thursday. Only those who had opted for it in advance by filing an application, also cast their votes on Thursday, Prabhakar Sharma, Headquarter’s Assistant to the Deputy Commissioner, said.

According to M. Maheshwar Rao, Deputy Commissioner, 568 polling booths have been set up in the district. Of them, 394 are under the limits of Mangalore City Corporation, 44 under Ullal town municipality, 27 Moodbidri municipality, 31 Bantwal municipality, 43 Puttur municipality, and 11 Belthangady town panchayat limits and 18 Sullia town panchayat.
In all, 90 booths have been classified as hyper-sensitive and 94 sensitive. Under Mangalore City Corporation limits, there are 65 hyper-sensitive and 43 sensitive booths.

As many as 4,59,556 people are eligible to vote in the district. There are 3,21,570 voters for 60 wards of Mangalore city corporation. Ullal has 37,526 voters for 27 wards; 20,853 voters for 23 wards of Moodbidri; 28,256 in 23 wards of Bantwal, and 34,588 in 27 wards of Puttur. Belthangady has 4,995 voters for 11 wards and Sullia 11,768 for 18.

Many rebels are there in the fray. According to B Ramanatha Rai, president, Dakshina Kannada unit of the Congress, 16 rebels of the party are contesting.

K Monappa Bhandary, president, Dakshina Kannada unit of the BJP, said five rebels of the party are in the fray.