Dehradun: Polling for the Kedarnath assembly seat in Uttarakhand is underway, with a total voter turnout of 4.3% recorded by 9 am. The assembly seat has 90,875 registered voters, including 44,919 male and 45,956 female voters. There are 173 polling booths, divided into 2 zones and 27 sectors.
For security, regional forest officers have been deployed to forest areas, and CPF teams have been assigned to sensitive booths. Webcasting arrangements have been made at 130 polling booths, ensuring continuous monitoring by the District and Chief Electoral Officer’s Office and the Election Commission through CCTV cameras, according to CEO BVRC Purushottam.
Six candidates are in fray
The Kedarnath seat in Rudraprayag district became vacant following the death of BJP MLA Shaila Rani Rawat in July. In this by-poll, six candidates are contesting, with BJP’s Asha Nautiyal and Congress’s Manoj Rawat in a close race. The stakes are high for both parties: the BJP aims to retain the seat, while the Congress seeks to secure another significant win after Badrinath.
There are 173 polling booths in the constituency, with CCTVs installed in 130 of them
For the first time in any election, 75 percent of polling booths will be webcasted, and 205 vehicles used in the election process will be monitored through GPS. CCTV cameras have been installed at 130 out of 173 polling booths. Previously, CCTV cameras were installed at only 50 percent of assembly polling centers, but this is the first time they are being installed at 75 percent of booths in any assembly. By Tuesday evening, after installing CCTVs at 130 centers out of 173, cross-checks were also conducted. Additionally, GPS has been installed in 205 vehicles used in the election process to allow complete monitoring of their activities.
CCTV cameras have been installed at polling centers to enable full monitoring
The polling center will be continuously monitored by the District and Chief Electoral Officer’s Office as well as the Election Commission through webcasting from CCTV cameras. The Election Commission regularly introduces new measures to ensure transparency in the election process. This time, CCTV cameras have been installed at polling centers to enable full monitoring, a process known as webcasting. A control room has been set up at the Chief Election Office and the District Election Office for monitoring webcasting and GPS, with the concerned nodal officer overseeing the process.
