Pune: With voter registration finalized at 8.64 million for the 21 Assembly constituencies in Pune District, the local election commission has made special arrangements to ease the voting process by setting up 126 new polling stations within 67 housing societies.
This initiative, which aims to improve accessibility and prevent overcrowding, will benefit 136,103 residents in larger societies across key urban constituencies.
To address low urban voter turnout, the Central Election Commission directed that polling stations be set up within large housing societies.
A similar approach was implemented in the previous Lok Sabha elections, with polling stations set up in 35 societies.
Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar, upon announcing the Assembly election code of conduct, had raised concerns over Pune’s urban voter apathy.
In response, election authorities chose Wednesday as the voting day this year, aiming to increase turnout by avoiding consecutive days off that might encourage residents to skip voting.
The District Election Machinery has allocated additional polling stations within housing societies, particularly in urban areas with high population density and over 1,500 eligible voters per society.
These constituencies include Kothrud, Hadapsar, Khadakwasla, Shivajinagar, Pune Cantonment, Chinchwad, and Pimpri, where the following new polling setups have been confirmed:
Wadgaon Sheri: 2 societies, 6 polling stations, 5,672 voters
Shivajinagar: 4 societies, 5 polling stations, 4,692 voters
Kothrud: 15 societies, 31 polling stations, 33,297 voters
Khadakwasla: 8 societies, 9 polling stations, 6,540 voters
Parvati: 1 society, 1 polling station, 1,169 voters
Hadapsar: 4 societies, 33 polling stations, 41,236 voters
Pune Cantonment: 4 societies, 5 polling stations, 5,396 voters
This focused setup is expected to not only enhance accessibility for urban voters but also help the election commission manage the anticipated high turnout by distributing the voting load across additional, strategically placed polling stations.