BMC Commissioner Bhushan Gagrani, who is also in charge of elections in Mumbai, has said that people will not be allowed to take mobile phones inside voting booths during the upcoming Maharashtra Assembly elections.
Voters have two options: they can either leave their phones at home or give them to security before entering the booth. They will get their phones back after voting. This rule is made to make sure the voting process is easy and safe.
New guidelines after voter confusion in Lok Sabha polls
Earlier this year, during the Lok Sabha elections, there was confusion because some voting places allowed phones while others did not. To avoid this kind of problem in the upcoming Assembly elections, clear rules have now been made to make sure the same issue doesn’t happen again.
BMC is distributing phamphlets with QR codes that will help one find one's polling booth location. Besides, Commissioner Gagrani said that they have initiated steps to provide better crowd management by providing basic amenities such as water, toilets, seating arrangements, and waiting rooms at all voting places to ensure comfort for people while waiting to vote.
Vulnerable polling booths and removal of political posters
The BMC is checking which voting booths might need extra security. They are also removing political posters and banners from public places to make sure the election rules are followed properly.
Mumbai will have more than 10,000 places where people can vote, with most of them located in the suburbs. The city is divided into 36 areas for electoral purposes. Chandivali has the most voters, with over 4 lakh residents. Wadala has the fewest voters, just over 2 lakh. The elections to the Maharashtra Assembly will be held on November 20th, and the vote counting will be done on November 23.