A polling booth inside the Gir forest for a lone voter, another set up in a shipping container and yet another on an island—the Assembly elections in Gujarat feature some unique and intriguing polling stations.
Inside the Gir lion sanctuary, the Commission has been setting up a polling booth for a single voter, and the EC says the initiative is in keeping with the poll body's motto that no voter should be left behind. The voter for whom this polling booth is set up is Mahant Bharatdas Bapu, a priest in an ancient Shiva temple in the Gir forest.
The Commission will be setting up a polling station in a shipping container at Aliabet in Bharuch district with facilities for 217 voters. Earlier, voters had to travel 82 km to vote. There is no government or semi-government building available in the area to set up a polling station.
Another unique polling station will be set up on a small island at Shiyalbet. There are over 800 houses and close to 5,000 voters on the island.
Polling stations will be set up by the Commission in Madhupur Jambur in Gir Somnath district for the Siddi community. Siddis are descendants of the East African people who came to India during the 14th and 17th centuries and now reside here. The total number of voters in the district is 3,481 and 90 per cent of them belong to the Siddi community.
The Commission will set up 1,274 polling stations which will be completely managed by women polling and security staff. A total of 182 will be managed by officials who belong to the category of people with disabilities.
Also, for the first time, 33 polling stations will be managed by the youngest available polling staff with the idea of encouraging the youth and first-time voters to come out in large numbers to vote.