The scrutiny of all nominations received for the Kollam Lok Sabha constituency was completed on Friday.
While three were disqualified based on the prescribed norms, currently the list has 12 eligible candidates. Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] dummy candidate S.R. Arunbabu and Sasikala Rao, the dummy candidate of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), were eliminated from the list after nomination of party candidates were accepted.
Independent candidate M.S. Manushankar was also disqualified as he failed to submit sufficient documents. CPI(M) candidate M. Mukesh, independent candidate S. Suresh Kumar, Socialist Unity Centre of India (Communist) candidate Twinkle Prabhakaran, independent candidates N. Jayarajan, J. Naushad Sharif, Marxist Communist Party of India (United) candidate P. Krishnammal, Ambedkarite Party of India’s Jose, BJP’s G. Krishnakumar, BSP’s V.A. Vipinlal, Bharatiya Jawan Kisan Party’s K. Pradeep Kumar, independent candidate Premachandran Nair and Revolutionary Socialist Party candidate N. K. Premachandran are the candidates in the list.
The Kollam Lok Sabha constituency has a total of 13,26,648 voters in seven Assembly segments.
Meanwhile, the district administration has taken steps to make polling stations voter-friendly and ensure the necessary infrastructure. Special guidelines have been issued for this, said District Collector N. Devidas.
Signages, in both English and Malayalam, will be placed at the polling stations indicating where the polling booths are, what all facilities are available and location of the voter assistance booth. In polling locations where there are more than four polling stations, crèche for children accompanying voters will be arranged, along with caretakers.
Elderly voters and differently abled voters will be given priority to enter polling stations without queues.
All polling stations will have a permanent ramp with a maximum slope of 1:12 to accommodate differently abled voters and senior citizens. Instructions has been given to set up temporary ramps if permanent ramps are not installed.
Adequate number of chairs and benches will be provided at each polling station for disabled voters, pregnant women, and senior citizens. A dispenser filled with fresh water and eco-friendly glasses will be provided. Sector officers will prepare a list of polling stations and locations where long queues are likely and volunteers will be deployed to manage the queue. In order to avoid crowding, tokens will be issued.
