EC begins work at poll booths, to give booth slips to agents today

The slips would be distributed according to a schedule drawn by the area election officers, District Election Officer Chandramohan said in a statement here on Wednesday.

The agents of political parties will be allowed to check the proceedings. In case of complaints, they could approach election officers and zonal officers and get their grievances redressed. 

EC said facilitation centres would be opened in various places for the distribution work. In a related development, the arranging of EVMs and other properties to set up booths in schools and colleges began on Wednesday, as the educational institutions were closed for summer holidays. 

In Loyola College, Presidency College and Queen Mary’s College, which would be the counting centres, works commenced on Wednesday and were going on in full swing. In a first-of-its-kind initiative, the photos of candidates are being affixed and stuck on the EVMs, for the voters to easily identify the candidates and vote accordingly. 

“Most people vote for the party symbol rather than the candidates. This move will enable people know to whom they were actually voting”, it said.