Voters to shape local self-govt today

Vadodara: With polling for local self-govt elections scheduled for Sunday, the Vadodara district administration on Saturday completed final preparations, including large-scale distribution of electronic voting machines (EVMs) and election material across the district.Authorities said all logistical, administrative and security arrangements were in place to ensure free, fair and peaceful polling. Polling will be held for the Vadodara district panchayat, seven taluka panchayats — Padra, Karjan, Shinor, Savli, Desar, Vadodara and Waghodia — four municipalities — Dabhoi, Padra, Savli and Waghodia — and the Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC). Counting will be held on April 28. On Saturday, EVMs and polling material were dispatched from 18 designated dispatch and receiving centres. Polling parties left for their respective booths in GPS-enabled vehicles under tight police security, with zonal officers, micro-observers and security personnel maintaining vigil. Overall, EVM allocation and dispatch were carried out from 34 locations, including six in urban areas, four at the municipal level and 24 at the district and taluka levels. Officials said all ballot units, control units and statutory documents were verified before being handed over to presiding and polling officers, according to state election commission guidelines. The district has set up 2,406 polling stations for 21,95,738 registered voters, comprising 11,16,473 men, 10,79,384 women and 111 others. Voting will be conducted using EVMs, with 5,442 ballot units and 4,290 control units deployed. In constituencies with more than 14 candidates, including some in the municipal corporation and Dabhoi municipality, two ballot units will be used. A total of 13,234 polling personnel and 7,939 police personnel have been deployed. As many as 547 vehicles — including buses, mini-buses, taxis and jeeps — have been arranged for transportation. A district-level control room has been set up for polling and counting days. Officials said 5,623 postal ballots were issued to election staff, including 2,652 police personnel, and voting through this mode has been completed. According to official data, 1,080 nomination forms were filed, of which 440 were rejected and 94 candidates withdrew. Elections will now be held for 346 seats, with 46 seats declared uncontested and 940 candidates remaining in the fray. To maintain law and order, police collected 1,827 weapons in urban areas and 658 in rural regions. Permissions for campaign-related activities, including public meetings, rallies, offices and vehicle use, were also regulated.