Ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the Election Commission has set up a polling booth for the only voter in the Banej village of the Gir Gadhada taluka in Gujarat's Somnath district. Haridasji, the Mahant of a village temple, is the lone voter in the area, which is located around 80 km away from Veraval, the headquarters of Gir Somnath district, and 25 km away from Jamvala, the nearest human-populated area.
Banej poses a logistical challenge for the poll staff due to its rough terrain.
The district administration has deployed 15 polling staff at this booth. Among these are one presiding officer, two polling booth agents, one peon, two police and one CRPF soldier among other supporting staff.
On Tuesday, District collector Digvijaysinh Jadeja personally visited the region to oversee the polling arrangement, reports said.
Despite the obstacles, the district administration is making all possible efforts to ensure that every eligible voter gets to exercise their right, even in the inaccessible areas of the country, an official said.
Haridasji of the Bangangeshwar Mahadev temple said the special arrangements made by the poll panel for his single vote indicate how much each vote is worth in our country. “No person should be left behind in voting,” he added.
Over the past few elections, Banej has had a tradition of 100% voter turnout. This legacy is expected to continue this time as well in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Earlier, Bharatdas Darshandas was the lone voter from Banej. However, he passed away at the age of 69 in 2019.
Voting for the 2024 general elections in Gujarat will take place in a single phase on May 7.Earlier this month, the Election Commission announced the schedule for the 2024 polls, stating that voting across the 543 Lok Sabha constituencies in the country will take place in seven phases from April 19 to June 1. The counting of votes will be held on June 4.
(Edited by : Sudarsanan Mani)
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