Till date 18 cases were lodged against eight speeches, 28 cases for inducements and 15 cases for misuse of religious places….reports Asian Lite News
The State Election Commission has slapped 189 cases against political parties and candidates in Karnataka for major violations of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) till date, stated Chief Electoral Officer, Manoj Kumar Meena, on Wednesday.
Meena told reporters that till date 18 cases were lodged against eight speeches, 28 cases for inducements and 15 cases for misuse of religious places.
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He said 18 cases were registered under Section 127A for printing pamphlets without permission of the district officer and 12 cases were booked against the BJP and its candidates in connection with hate speeches.
Nine cases were registered against the Congress and two cases were lodged against the JD(S) in this regard.
Eight cases of inducement have been registered against BJP for offering incentives to voters, nine against the Congress, three against JD(S) and eight cases against Independents and candidates of other parties, Meena stated.
He added that regarding misuse of the Religious Places Act, eight cases have been registered against the BJP, six against the Congress and one against an Independent candidate.
Seven cases each were slapped against the BJP and the Congress over the use of children for campaigning and one case was against an Independent candidate.
1,832 special polling booths
The Election Commission (EC) in Karnataka has decided to establish 1,832 special polling booths to encourage different sections such as tribals, women, and persons with disabilities to participate and vote in the Lok Sabha elections.
The Department of Scheduled Tribes in coordination with the EC is setting up 40 special polling booths based on the tribal culture theme. These tribal theme-based polling booths will be located in Chamarajanagar (9), Mysuru (9), Dakshina Kannada (5), Shivamogga (3), Udupi (1), Hassan (1), Uttara Kannada (5), Kodagu (5) and Chikkamagaluru (2).
Special booths to encourage youth, women, and persons with disabilities are also being established across the state.
Karnataka’s Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Manoj Kumar Meena has said the elections will be celebrated like a festival. Special booths are being established to increase voter turnout under the Systematic Voters’ Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP) programme.
To encourage women voters, 1,120 Sakhi polling booths will be established all over the state and they will be managed completely by women.
For every Assembly constituency, a minimum of five Sakhi polling booths will be created.
Similarly, one polling booth in each Assembly constituency across the state will be set up to ensure the participation of specially-abled persons. These 224 booths will be operated by the specially-abled officers and staff.
Likewise, one polling booth in every Assembly constituency will be managed completely by young officers and staff. At least one polling booth in every constituency reflecting the culture and speciality of the region will be set up across the state, the CEO said.
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