Bengaluru: Chief Election Commissioner Om Prakash Rawat and Election Commissioners Sunil Arora and Ashok Lavasa on Thursday launched three mobile applications for voters ahead of the May 12 Karnataka Assembly elections.

The applications -- Election Officers' Directory, Model Code of Conduct Reporting and Election Quiz -- would allow the voters to find the contact numbers of the poll officers, report any violations of code of conduct and get information on the polls.

"Our aim is to ensure that no voter is left behind, as every vote is valuable and counts," said Rawat on the occasion.

On the second day of the poll panel's visit to the state, its members reviewed arrangements for the polling with the Deputy Commissioners (DCs) and Superintendents of Police (SPs) of the 30 districts across the state, an official statement said.

"All the District Electoral Officers were apprised of the use of VVPAT (Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail) counting booth model prepared by the state's Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Sanjiv Kumar," it said.

With a theme for the assembly election, "Inclusive, Accessible and Ethical Elections", the poll panel has been working on educating the voters in the city and across the state.

In a bid to educate voters, the city's civic corporation has put up about 100 hoardings across the city bearing messages on electoral participation.

The poll panel is also holding various Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) and VVPAT awareness campaigns in the state.

Rawat on Thursday flagged off eight vehicles that will travel through the state with election awareness content.

A photo exhibition displaying the evolution of electoral process in the country has also been unveiled at Chitrakala Parishad in the city centre.

 

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Mangaluru: Banjarumale, an interior hamlet in Belthangady taluk of Dakshina Kannda district, recorded 100 per cent voting in the Lok Sabha election on Friday.

This hamlet has 111 voters and each one of them turned up at the only polling booth, completing voting two hours before polling ended at 6pm.

The hamlet is inhabited by forest dwellers, tribal farmers and collectors of minor forest waste. Despite having no power or transport connectivity, the people survive in the forest using water from the perennial water sources in the hills of the Western Ghats.

To reach their taluk headquarters Belthangady, the people have to travel via Mudigere by bus or walk eight kilometres through the dense forests, but they all made sure to vote.

The district authorities appreciated their spirit.

Anni Malekudia, a resident of the village, told PTI, “We do not complain about the lax facilities. We understand that all the facilities that are given to towns cannot be given to all villages. Nevertheless, that has not deterred us from voting in full numbers. I am sure even if there were 500 voters or more they would have all come to vote.”

In the 2023 Karnataka Assembly election, Banjarumale had recorded 99 per cent voting according to the district polling statistics..