Over 5.55 lakh PwD voters to exercise their voting rights in Karnataka Legislative Assembly elections: CEC

A total of 5.55 lakh PwD voters will exercise their voting rights in the upcoming Karnataka Legislative Assembly election which is scheduled to be held on May 10, said the Election Commission of India (ECI).

''The term of the Legislative Assembly of Karnataka is due to expire on May 25. Elections are to be scheduled for 224 ACs in the state. As per the electoral roll published, over 5.21 crore electors are registered, out of which ~ 5.55 lakh are PwD electors,'' ECI tweeted.

The term of the Legislative Assembly of Karnataka is due to expire on May 25. Elections are to be scheduled for 224 ACs in the state. As per the electoral roll published, over 5.21 crore electors are registered, out of which ~ 5.55 lakh are PwD electors#KarnatakaElections2023 pic.twitter.com/GfkimFc75m

— Election Commission of India #SVEEP (@ECISVEEP) March 29, 2023

As per the data, there are over 5.21 crore registered voters in the state of which over 2.62 crore are male while 2.59 crore are female.

Besides this, over 47, 000 are service electors, 4,699 are third gender, and lastly, around 5,55,073 are PwD voters.

The ECI further said that all arrangements will be made at the polling station for the convenience of senior citizens and PwD voters. Additionally, for the first time, a home voting facility will be provided for 12.15 lakh 80 years + and 5.55 lakh benchmarked PwD voters.

Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar stressed the awareness and cooperation of citizens to ensure free, fair, and inducement-free elections. 

''Citizens can report any kind of electoral malpractices to ECI through its 'cVigil App'. For every complaint, there will be a response in 100 minutes,'' he said while addressing a press conference.

Kumar further said that as many as 58,282 polling stations will be set up in 224 Assembly constituencies for the upcoming elections in the state. 

"The average voter per PS is 883. 50 per cent of polling stations have a webcasting facility. For an enhanced voter experience, 1320 polling stations will be managed by women officials," the CEC added.  

The term of the 224-member Karnataka Assembly ends on May 24 and the ruling BJP expects to win at least 150 of the 224 seats. 

Meanwhile, the JD(S) and the Congress have released their initial lists, which include 124 and 93 candidates, respectively.

Currently, the BJP has 119 MLAs in the 224-seat Karnataka Assembly, followed by the Congress with 75 and its ally JD(S) with 28 seats.

Also read: Election Commission to announce schedule for Karnataka Assembly elections on March 29