 |
| Officials collect EVMs and other election materials before heading for polling stations in Berhampur on Wednesday. Picture by Gopal Krishna Reddy |
In election mode
No. of corporations: 1
No. of municipalities: 25
No. of notified area councils: 40
No. of wards: 1103
No. of booths: 1968
No. of sensitive booths: 108
No. highly-sensitive booths: 561
No. of voters: Nearly 18 lakh
No. of polling officials deployed:10896
No. of candidates in fray: 3839
(BJD: 1086, Cong: 1035, BJP: 698, CPI: 30, CPM:19, Independents: 971)
Poll timing
8am to 5pm
Best time to vote
State govt has declared Sept. 19 a holiday in poll-bound areas. One can vote any time during the polling period
Must carry to the booth
Electoral photo identity card (EPIC)
Can one vote without EPIC?
Yes, if you have any one of the following:
Passport, driving licence, PAN card
Service identity card issued by central or state government, local bodies or public sector undertakings
Passbook of bank or post office
Student identity card or library card issued by recognised educational institutions
Caste certificate/ disability certificate issued by competent authority
Arms licence or property document
Railway pass
Pension payment document or any pension card
Freedom fighter identity card
Ration card
Prohibited inside a booth
Firearms, any object that can be used as weapons
Election campaign material
Camera
Things that can come handy
Rain or sunshine, an umbrella is always a big help. You can also carry a bottle of water or wear sunglass, depending on the weather
Polling process
Show your identity card. Sign on the vote register. Electoral officer will put indelible ink on your finger and hand over a slip having voters' serial number. Hand over the slip to the presiding officer. Walk up to electronic voting machine kept in a corner covered from sides to maintain secrecy. Press the blue button against the candidate of choice. Red light will glow and a beep will indicate that the vote has been cast
Is there no-vote system?
No. However, if a voter enters a booth and refuses to vote, it has to be registered in the notebooks of the booth officials
What to do in case of a snag?
In case there is a technical snag in the EVM, it will be repaired soon. However, the time taken to repair the snag will not be included in the voting time. The voting time can be extended accordingly.