Now you can check candidate details at the booths, on the day of polling as well

In a move to increase voter awareness, the State Election Commission has decided to come up with a novel way of education voters about the contesting candidates. This civic election, you can choose your candidate after analysing their affidavit details on the polling day itself as this information will be available at your centres on February 21. You can take a look at the educational qualification of your candidates and you would also come to know if he/she has any criminal record on a display board inside the centre.

 

Ahead of the civic polls 2017, the local election authorities will put up display boards outside polling booths showing a summarised version of candidates’ affidavits. These affidavits will have the details of their name, age, education qualification, criminal records, assets and liabilities.

 

The state election commission (SEC) has made it compulsory for all civic bodies to put up these display boards showing the details of all the candidates. There will be over 8,000 polling booths in Mumbai alone.

 

JS Saharia, state election commissioner, told HT: “According to the Supreme Court’s judgment, it is the right of every voter to know their candidates’ details and thus we will be asking the municipal corporations to put up a summary of the candidates’ affidavits on polling day outside every booth. It will be a practice that will be followed for all the elections.”

 

He further said, “The written directives are in process and will be circulated to all the ten corporations going to polls.”

 

Sources however revealed that it will not be any additional information or any comments on the polling day, but it will be a plain summary of what has already been submitted to the election commission by the candidates, which will be displayed in a tabular format. It will be in a specific format, said the sources.