Vidarbha votes today: 445 polling stations for the Nagpur graduates’ seat, 81 for the Amravati teachers’ seat; voters by district, time off and liquor rules

Voting began at 8 am today, Friday 23 October, for two Legislative Council seats in Vidarbha, and closes at 4 pm. The Nagpur Division Graduates’ constituency covers six districts: Nagpur, Chandrapur, Wardha, Bhandara, Gondia and Gadchiroli. It has 2,55,603 voters and 38 candidates. The Amravati Division Teachers’ constituency covers Amravati, Akola, Buldhana, Washim and Yavatmal, with 35,810 voters and 26 candidates. There are no EVMs: voters write preferences on a paper ballot. Votes will be counted on Tuesday, 27 October.

Nagpur division graduates’ seat: voters and polling stations by district

• Nagpur: 1,44,466 voters, 246 polling stations
• Chandrapur: 32,262 voters, 58 polling stations
• Gondia: 22,176 voters, 39 polling stations
• Wardha: 21,742 voters, 41 polling stations
• Bhandara: 21,349 voters, 35 polling stations
• Gadchiroli: 13,608 voters, 26 polling stations

The roll has 1,47,280 men, 1,08,301 women and 22 voters of other gender. It includes 14,197 voters with disabilities and 855 voters over 80, of whom 721 are in Nagpur district. The district counts of polling stations add up to 445, the total most reports carry; a few outlets have put it at 455.

Amravati division teachers’ seat: voters and polling stations by district

• Amravati: 10,097 voters, 25 polling stations
• Buldhana: 9,124 voters, 18 polling stations
• Yavatmal: 6,932 voters, 18 polling stations
• Akola: 5,942 voters, 13 polling stations
• Washim: 3,715 voters, 7 polling stations

The electorate is 24,732 men and 11,078 women. It stood at 35,622 in 2020, so it has grown by just 188 in six years. In that election 30,918 teachers voted, and 1,089 ballots were rejected because preferences had been marked wrongly. It pays to know how to fill in the ballot before you go.

How the polls are staffed

• Nagpur division: the administration of returning officer and divisional commissioner Vijayalakshmi Bidari has put 2,535 state government officers and staff on poll duty across the six districts, plus 476 officers lent by the central government and, for Gadchiroli alone, 32 more from central public sector undertakings.
• Polling teams (regular plus reserve): Nagpur 246 plus 40, Chandrapur 58 plus 7, Wardha 41 plus 8, Gondia 39 plus 6, Bhandara 35 plus 8, and Gadchiroli 26 plus 6.
• On Thursday the teams collected ballot papers, ballot boxes, electoral rolls and other material at St Ursula School in Nagpur and left for their polling stations.
• Amravati division: the returning officer is divisional commissioner Nayana Gunde. Each polling station has a presiding officer, three polling officers and one police constable, and 28 zonal officers supervise the 81 stations. Proceedings at every station are being webcast.
• After polling, the Amravati division’s ballot boxes go to a strong room at Lokshahi Bhavan in Amravati, where the votes will also be counted on 27 October.
• We could not find a division-wide figure for police deployment from the authorities. In Wardha, the district administration says police officers and constables have been posted as needed.

Time off for employees

• Government officers and staff who are voters in these constituencies get paid special casual leave on polling day, on top of their regular casual leave. The General Administration Department resolution is on the Maharashtra Chief Electoral Officer’s website.
• Private-sector employees do not get that leave, but the time off they must be given to vote has gone up from the two hours announced earlier to four. The change came in a revised letter from the Chief Electoral Officer’s office, which noted that polling stations are far apart in places and voters need time to travel. It covers both graduate and teacher voters.
• In the Nagpur division, returning officer Vijayalakshmi Bidari has directed private establishments to give their registered voters the four hours.

How long liquor sales stay shut

• Nagpur and Chandrapur districts: both collectors had ordered liquor shops closed from 4 pm on 21 October to 4 pm today, and again on counting day. On Monday, 19 October, a Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court (Justices Urmila Joshi-Phalke and Raj Wakode) quashed those orders on petitions by liquor sellers. Sales are now barred only during polling hours today, 8 am to 4 pm, and there is no ban on 27 October.
• Other districts in the Nagpur division: the orders reported earlier keep shops shut across the constituency from 4 pm on 21 October to 4 pm today. We could not confirm whether any of them was later changed.
• Amravati district: wine and beer shops, bars and permit rooms were reported to be closed from 4 pm on 21 October until polling ends today. We could not find the orders for Akola, Buldhana, Washim and Yavatmal.
• Every order reported so far keeps sales stopped until 4 pm today. Check your district’s latest order with the collector’s office or the State Excise Department.

Other local orders

• Chandrapur: collector Vasumana Pant has ordered Friday weekly markets shut today in places with polling stations: Warora, Shegaon Bk., Chimur, Bhisi, Shankarpur, Nagbhid, Brahmapuri, Gangalwadi, Sindewahi, Navargaon, Bhadravati, Chandrapur, Ghugus, Mul, Saoli, Ballarpur, Rajura, Gadchandur, Pombhurna and Gondpipri.
• Within 200 metres of a polling station, party symbols, slogans, leaflets and banners may not be carried or displayed, and campaigning over loudspeakers is banned.
• Gadchiroli: ETV Bharat reports that for security reasons, polling in Etapalli, Bhamragad, Sironcha and Aheri talukas ends at 3 pm, and that a polling team was flown to Bhamragad by helicopter. Voters there should confirm the timing with the tehsil office and reach the booth before 3 pm.
• Buldhana: there is a polling station at every one of the district’s 13 taluka headquarters. Buldhana town has three; Khamgaon, Chikhli and Mehkar have two each; the other nine talukas have one each.

Before you leave home

• Only people on the separate graduates’ or teachers’ electoral roll can vote. Being on the Assembly voters’ list is not enough.
• Find your name and polling station at mahaelection.gov.in/Citizen/Search: choose Graduates’ or Teachers’, then enter your district, taluka and name. Note down the part number and serial number.
• Carry your voter ID card (EPIC).
• Mark preferences only with the violet sketch pen handed to you at the booth. A 1 against your first choice is essential. Do not sign the ballot, write your name or make any other mark on it.
• Polling closes at 4 pm. Don’t wait for the last hour.

Also read: Council polls: the five seats, dry days and leave rules; How to vote so your ballot counts

Sources: Nagpur Today (voters and stations); Nagpur Today (staffing); The Live Nagpur (electoral roll); The Live Nagpur (polling parties); The Live Nagpur (four-hour concession); The Live Nagpur (High Court, dry day); Tarun Bharat; TV9 Marathi; Pudhari (Amravati stations); Pudhari (Amravati voters); Pudhari (Buldhana); Pudhari (81 stations approved); Pudhari (Wardha); Pudhari (Chandrapur markets); Pudhari (leave and time off); eSakal (revised letter); Sarkarnama; Saam TV (dry day); Lokmat Times (dry day); ETV Bharat (Gadchiroli)