Himachal Pradesh will be the first State to use returning officer Net (RONET), the Online Decision Support System for the November 9 Assembly elections.
A spokesperson of the Election Department said RONET had been tested on pilot basis and first used in a few constituencies of the recently concluded Punjab Assembly elections, and it is for the first time that Election Commission is going to use it in the whole State of Himachal Pradesh.
RONET would also be used for the first time for processing payments to the entire workforce involved in the election process.
To ensure seamless e-Payments RONET had been connected with e-Kosh i.e. H.P’s State Treasury Application. Through this application, the contesting candidates can directly apply for permissions and in-turn the RO can view the permission requests in the RONET, the spokesperson added.
RONET is a specialised MIS Decision Support System Software, which provides Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), District Election Officer (DEO) and RO with the necessary information for making efficient, time-bound & intelligent decisions during the critical election process.
The spokesperson said RONET could respond quickly to the changing needs during various stages of the electoral process thus enabling real-time data availability for electoral staff. It provides updated information to CEO, DEO, RO about Polling staff deployment, EVM, VVPAT deployment and host of other infrastructure and inventory details like Person with Disability database, Dispatch and Collection centre, Counting centre, polling station, critical polling booths, webcasting of elections.
“During the polling days, the RO can directly communicate to polling party about training, material dispatch, EVM, VVPAT deployment details, posting orders, postal ballots and pre-poll arrangements by sending SMS and Mobile Notifications,” the spokesperson added.
On the other hand, polling party can directly inform about poll day arrangements and voter turnout straight from their mobile app. During Polling, the Presiding Officer can report any law and order issue or malfunction of EVM and VVPAT from their mobile application, immediately the message is flashed to Sector Officer, RO and DEO for taking corrective action.