The ballot box and other important poll material for the upcoming presidential election was on Wednesday brought to the premises of the Delhi Assembly and stored in a strong room, officials said. The election for the next President of India will be held on July 18 in which 4,809 electors comprising MPs and MLAs will vote to elect incumbent Ram Nath Kovind’s successor, the Election Commission of India (ECI) had said in June.
“Gearing up for the upcoming presidential election, Assistant Returning Officer (ARO) of the Delhi Legislative Assembly C Velmurugan today received the designated ballot box, ballot papers, special pens, and other sealed important election material from the Election Commission of India,” a senior official of a poll body here said.
The ECI has started distribution and dispatch of all necessary material required for the successful conduct of the 16th presidential election of India, he said. This two-day exercise at Nirvachan Sadan here for dispatch of election material to states and UTs in a time-bound and secure manner is being undertaken under the supervision of Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar and Election Commissioner Anup Chandra Pandey, the official said.
The ECI mandates the collection of materials from its headquarters in Delhi by AROs, including one senior officer from the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO). Pursuant to that, a representative of the CEO of Delhi was also present during the receiving of the ballot box and other important election material, he added.Further, after collecting the ballot box and other important material from the ECI, it was brought to the Delhi Vidhan Sabha premises through a short road journey. The ballot box and other important relevant election material were then kept in a strong room located on the ground floor of the building, the official said.
The strong room was sanitised prior to storage of the material and properly sealed under strict videography monitoring and other appropriate security measures, he said.”As per ECI guidelines, in view of the COVID-19 pandemic, strong rooms are to be properly sanitised before storing any poll material,” he added.All 70 members of the Delhi Legislative Assembly will cast their vote to elect the 16th President of India.Counting for the poll will take place in the national capital on July 21, after all ballots from states are brought here. Kovind’s term ends on July 24 and an election for the next president has to be held before that day.
