Haryana Assembly polls: Polling stations to be set up at apartment complexes in Gurugram, Faridabad

New Delhi, Aug 16 (PTI) Several high-rise apartment complexes in Gurugram and some other cities in Haryana will have their own polling stations for the upcoming assembly elections, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar announced on Friday.

Kumar said the move was aimed at tackling "urban apathy".

"In Gurgaon, Faridabad and Sonipat, many polling stations have been shifted to high-rise societies so that congestion is reduced and also polling percentage increases. This is one way of handling urban apathy in elections," Kumar said.

"Some stations will also be set up in slum areas," he added.

More than 20,000 polling stations will be set up for the Haryana Assembly elections -- over 7,000 in urban areas and approximately 13,000 in rural areas.

The Election Commission on Friday announced that elections to the 90-member Haryana Assembly will be held on October 1 and the results declared on October 4.

The state reportedly has 2.01 crore registered voters, including approximately 1.06 crore men and 95 lakh women.

Notably, 4.52 lakh young voters are eligible to cast their votes for the first time. Additionally, 2.54 lakh citizens aged 85 and above and 1.5 lakh disabled voters are registered in the state. More than 10,381 voters are aged 100 years and above.

In the recent Lok Sabha elections, the Election Commission set up 52 polling booths in 31 high-rise societies in Gurugram.

Urban and youth apathy is described as a phenomenon when young voters and those living in metro cities fail to turn up at polling stations on election day.

The Election Commission had in May lamented the low turnout in the Lok Sabha polls in urban constituencies in various cities such as Mumbai, Thane, Nashik and Lucknow.

Ahead of the Lok Sabha elections in Haryana, the poll body had urged voters in urban centres such as Delhi, Gurugram and Faridabad to break the trend of urban apathy by coming out in large numbers and vote. PTI GJS SZM