 "voting, elections, polls")
More than 15.2 million individuals would be eligible to vote in Delhi in the upcoming elections on May 25, the Chief Electoral Officer of Delhi, P Krishnamurthy, stated while addressing a press conference on Tuesday.
This marks a significant increase from the 14.3 million eligible voters in the previous elections, with an additional 885,000 voters since 2019.
The chief electoral officer (CEO) froze the final electoral roll on Sunday.
Delhi Lok Sabha elections: Gender ratio of voters
Krishnamurthy especially highlighted the surge in women voters, who now exceed male voters.
"The significant point is that the gender ratio in the electoral roll has improved significantly in the past five years," the CEO said.
While approximately 340,000 new male voters registered themselves to vote in Delhi over the past five years, a 4.3 per cent increase from 2019, the number of new women voters stood at 545,000 during the same period.
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Krishnamurthy emphasised the improvement in the gender ratio within the electoral roll, noting that Delhi now boasts 851 women voters per 1,000 male electors, compared to 818 in 2019. Additionally, the voter-population ratio has been enhanced by 2.5 per cent points since 2019, indicating a cleaner voters' list with minimal duplicate entries or outdated information.
Delhi Lok Sabha elections: Polling stations
To ensure a smooth and transparent election process, 13,637 main and four auxiliary polling stations will be established across 2,627 locations. Special provisions include seventy pink booths operated entirely by women staff, seventy model polling booths, and one polling booth in each parliamentary constituency managed by persons with disabilities (PwDs).
Delhi Lok Sabha elections: Security at polling booths
Over 100,000 polling personnel, along with 46 companies of Central Armed Police forces, 78,578 Delhi Police personnel, and 19,000 Home Guards, will be deployed for extensive security coverage at all polling stations in Delhi.
Critical polling booths, numbering 2,891, will receive heightened security, while 6,833 booths will be directly monitored by the CEO's office and district election officers via webcast to ensure transparency and accountability.
Delhi Lok Sabha elections: Home voting
For voters unable to visit polling stations, arrangements have been made for home voting, with 5,472 requests received from PwDs and individuals above 85 years of age.
"For those who wish to come to the polling stations, the returning offices have been directed to hire e-rickshaws and other vehicles to provide them with a pick-and-drop facility," Krishnamurthy said.
Krishnamurthy concluded by stating that 3,500 wheelchairs and 180 sign language translators would be available to aid individuals with mobility and communication disabilities, further ensuring inclusivity in the electoral process.
Heatwave preparations in Delhi
Anticipating heat waves during voting, arrangements are being made to provide comfort and safety to voters, including access to drinking water and availability of paramedics with basic health kits at polling booths, the CEO said.
Delhi Lok Sabha seats
Delhi has seven Lok Sabha seats: Chandni Chowk, East Delhi, New Delhi, North East Delhi, North West Delhi, South Delhi, and West Delhi.
The North West Delhi Lok Sabha seat is reserved only for Scheduled Caste (SC) candidates.
In the 2014 Lok Sabha election, all seven parliamentary seats were won by BJP candidates due to the Narendra Modi wave. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has won all seven seats in the last two general elections, 2014 and 2019.
All seven constituencies will go to polls in a single phase on May 25.
