Mobile apps, QR codes to aid voters as Delhi polls go hi-tech
For the Delhi voters who brave chilling weather and pollution for casting their votes, this time the election commission has made the process easier with the introduced a special app and Quick Response (QR) codes.
In an attempt to assist the voters of Delhi to exercise their franchise without hassles, the Election Commission of India (ECI), for the first time, has introduced a special “Booth App” and Quick Response (QR) codes.
The ‘Booth App’ is designed to show the real-time queue status at the voting centres besides predicting queue length through the application of Artificial Intelligence (AI).
Besides serving the voters, the high-tech app will also ensure faster polling with less number of queues and error-free counting of voter turnout without manual intervention.
As part of the high-tech voting initiative by the EC, QR code-enabled voter slip and booth application are also being made available to the voters.
Voters can download their digital photo voter slip by downloading the ‘Booth App’ available on Google Play Store and Apple’s App Store.
The application is available at 11 model assembly constituencies – Sultanpur Majra, Seelampur, Ballimaran, Bijwasan, Trilokpuri, Shakur Basti, New Delhi, Rohtas Nagar, Chhatarpur, Rajouri Garden and Jangpura – where electors are allowed to carry smartphones for accessing QR codes in case they do not bring the voters’ slip to the booth.
The EC has also arranged a pick and drop facility for senior citizens above 80 years and disabled.
To avail the facility the voters are required to visit the official website of the commission and click on the pick-and-drop segment. An OTP will be sent to their registered mobile numbers.
Related news: Voting for Delhi assembly begins amid tight security
Delhi has 2,04,830 voters aged above 80 and 50,473 Persons with Disabilities (PwD) electors.
Among those availing the facility will be 132 centenarian— 68 men and 64 women — who will be treated as “VIP voters” by the commission.
The commission is providing a special vehicle for Delhi’s oldest voter 111-year-old Kalitara Mandal and her family.
Fate of 672 candidates, who left no stone unturned to win over the support of the voters, will be decided at 13,750 polling booths in 2688 locations across the state.
From alleged cash distribution to seeking divine intervention, the drama was high-pitched even hours before the commencement of voting.
The ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) alleged on Friday night (February 7) that Union minister and BJP MP Giriraj Singh was caught distributing money inside a jewellery shop in Budh Vihar, Rithala.
A video clip showed the MP was gheraoed by a crowd before he was rescued by the police.
AAP said it had formed 272 teams in all the municipal wards of the city to keep a vigil against the distribution of money and liquor allegedly by BJP MPs and leaders.
“In this last leg of the campaign, BJP’s electoral manipulations are in full swing. We have received inputs that money and liquor are being distributed in some areas. Like last time, we have formed 272 teams in all the 272 wards, which have also been equipped with sting cameras,” AAP spokesperson Sanjay Singh said in a statement issued on Friday night.
Related news: Delhi moves to polls with Shaheen Bagh, Modi, Kejriwal, vitriol in mind
On the eve of the elections, chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, who had earlier recited Hanuman Chalisa during a TV-interview to assert his Hindu-identity, offered puja at a Hanuman temple to seek the blessing of the monkey god ahead of the highly-polarised elections.
BJP state president Manoj Tiwari also offered puja at the city’s Kalkaji temple.
