One Polling Station In Each Constituency To Be Handled By Women: Election Commission

The Election Commission, on Saturday, mandated that one polling station in each constituency should be managed by women in the upcoming Assembly Elections. This is introduced in a bid to facilitate increased participation of women in the election process.

The announcement was a part of the all-important press conference held by Chief Election Commissioner Sushil Chandra where he asked the political parties to hold virtual rallies, keeping in mind the rapid surge of COVID-19 cases in the country.

'Firm Commitment Towards Gender Equality'

According to The Times of India, the Election Commission aims to encourage more women to participate in this year's Assembly Elections in Goa, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab and Manipur. At least one polling station in every constituency in the states mentioned above will be managed by an all-women crew, from the election staff to the security personnel.

"ECI has mandated that at least one polling station managed exclusively by women shall be set up in every Assembly constituency. Our officers have identified much more than that. There are 690 Assembly seats but we are setting up 1620 such polling booths," ANI quotes Chandra from the press conference.

Further, Chandra adds that out of a total of 18.34 crore voters across five states, 8.55 crore of them are women. Therefore, this move by the Election Commission wants to ensure more women participate in the upcoming elections, also called the 'carnival of democracy.'

Extra Focus On Women Voters

Assembly Elections 2022 has witnessed several political parties coming up with women-centric incentives. Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi announced a 40% reservation of tickets for women candidates under the campaign called 'Ladki Hoon, Lad Sakti Hoon.'

From safety to reservation and other opportunities, the political parties are making various promises ahead of the elections. However, more needs to be done in this regard. Last year, a total of 70 women won their rightful place in the state legislature but this is not enough to outnumber their male counterparts on the political battlefield. Only time will tell how these initiatives will bear fruit once the election results are out.

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