Lok Sabha polls: Panchkula set for high-stakes showdown
At each booth, one presiding officer, one assistant presiding officer, two polling officers and two police personnel have been deployed
A staggering 4.33 lakh voters from the Kalka and Panchkula assembly segments are set to exercise their right to franchise in Panchkula district, part of the Ambala parliamentary constituency, on Saturday.
A high-stakes electoral showdown is set to unfold, with the BJP, facing palpable anti-incumbency, fielding Banto Devi Kataria, 59, the wife of the late MP Rattan Lal Kataria, who won the seat thrice in 1999, 2014, and 2019, while the Congress is banking on Varun Chaudhary to reclaim the seat, having previously won it in 2004 and 2009.
Of the nine assembly seats in this parliamentary constituency, the BJP holds five (Panchkula, Ambala Cantt, Ambala City, Jaghadhri, and Yamunanagar), while Congress MLAs represent Kalka, Naraingarh, Mullana (SC), and Sadhaura (SC). Thus, the political battleground is charged with anticipation as both parties vie for supremacy in this reserved Lok Sabha seat.
In all, 14 candidates are in the fray in Ambala constituency, including Gurpreet Singh from the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD), Kiran Punia from the Jannayak Janta Party (JJP), and Pawan Kumar from the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP).
Mobile phones not allowed in polling booths
Deputy commissioner-cum-district election officer Yash Garg said, “Section 144 CrPC is imposed in the district and no campaign will be allowed within 200 metres of polling booths. Also mobile phones will not be allowed inside polling booths. Violators will be prosecuted.”
He added, “During voting, women and disabled people should be allowed to cast their votes on priority.”
After final training, polling parties were despatched to 424 polling booths in the district with election material in GPS-installed vehicles on Friday.
At each booth, one presiding officer, one assistant presiding officer, two polling officers and two police personnel have been deployed.
Garg said basic facilities like water, toilets and wheelchairs had been provided at all booths in the district. “If there is any kind of problem, make sure to immediately report it to the assistant election officer or sector officer,” Garg urged voters.
With special focus on encouraging higher voter turnout, sakhi, divyang and model polling booths have also been established.
In Kalka, a Sakhi polling station, which will be managed exclusively by women officers/employees, has been set up at Government Senior Secondary School, Pinjore, while in Panchkula, it has been established at Government Model Senior Secondary School, Sector 26.
To boost the participation of voters with disability, in Kalka, a divyang polling booth has been set up in Government College, Kalka; and in Panchkula, at Government Sarthak Model Senior Secondary School, Sector 12A. These polling stations would be managed by only differently abled personnel.
Garg said model polling stations, offering special VIP experience to voters, had also been set up in each assembly constituency. These include Government Senior Secondary School, Pinjore, in Kalka and Government Model Senior Secondary School, Sector 26, in Panchkula.
The strong room for Kalka is at Government Post Graduate College for Women, Sector 14, and for Panchkula, at Government Post Graduate College, Sector 1.
