The election commission has sent 3277 electronically transmissible Postal Ballot to service voters for Tharali assembly by –elections. These ballots termed Electronic Transmission of Postal Ballot System (ETPBS) would be extensively used for the first time in the State. In the assembly elections of 2017, these ballots were used on experimental basis in Udham Singh Nagar and Haridwar city assembly constituencies. Under the ETPBS, the Returning Officer (RO) generates a URl code using the names of the candidates, their party affiliations and photographs in the site of election commission. A QR code is then auto generated and the One Time Password (OTP) is sent on the mobile number of the elector to whom the ETPBS is to be sent. By logging on the site of election commission and by the help of OR code and OTP the elector opens the PDF file containing the ETPBS is downloaded. The elector would then take a print out of the file and send the ballot exercising his franchise with declaration countersigned by a gazetted officer. To maintain secrecy and to remove any chances of malpractice a QR code sticker is pasted on the envelope carrying the postal ballot. The deputy Chief Electoral Officer Mastu Ram said that the postal ballots received before 8 am on May 31, the day of counting would be accepted.
It is worth mentioning here that the commission is using the Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) machines for the first time in all the polling booths. The election commission has set up a total 178 polling stations in Tharali and divided the entire assembly unto five zones and 39 sectors. The polling parties for 24 remote polling stations would leave for their destinations on Saturday ( May 26) itself. The commission has appointed K H Kulkarni as general observer while Vilas V Shinde is finance observer, apart from them 18 micro observers has also been appointed. The election commission has also identified 18 polling stations for webcasting.
Major contestants- Dr Jeet Ram ( INC), Munni Devi Shah (BJP), Kasbi lal Shah (UKD) abd Kunwar Ram ( CPI M)