Separate tickets are purchased for the ballot boxes under the name "Mr Ballot Box," and 'he' is seated in the front row of the aircraft beside the officer.
Ballot boxes for the presidential election are 'flying' as passengers, each with their own aircraft seat as they make their way to most state capitals where they will be used in the July 18 election.
Separate tickets are purchased for the ballot boxes under the name "Mr Ballot Box," and 'he' is seated in the front row of the aircraft beside the officer transporting poll material such as ballot papers and special pens to mark votes.
On Tuesday, 14 ballot boxes will be delivered, while 16 will be delivered on Wednesday. The ballot box for Parliament House and the Delhi Legislative Assembly is expected to be delivered on Wednesday. According to officials, the Himachal Pradesh ballot box will travel by road.
To collect the poll material, a state assistant returning officer and one official from the office of the state chief electoral officer come to Nirvachan Sadan, the EC headquarters here. They are required to return to the state capital the following day.
Once the ballot boxes and ballot papers arrive in the state capitals, they are stored in sanitised and properly sealed strong rooms, and the process is videotaped.
After the election, the polled and sealed ballot boxes and other election material must be transported by the next available flight back to the office of the returning officer, this time the Rajya Sabha secretary-general.
The boxes and other documents are carried in the aircraft cabins by the officers who accompany them.
Voting takes place in Parliament House and state legislative assemblies, and only elected MPs and MLAs have the right to vote. MLCs are not eligible to vote in the presidential election.
Speaking to the assistant returning officers, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar emphasised that the EC teams' strict adherence to procedures has become their trademark in delivering error-free elections.
He stated that the EC's robustness in conducting elections is due to well-defined instructions and standard operating procedures that must be strictly followed to complete every electoral process.
The poll panel said in a statement that he asked officials to be vigilant and to strictly adhere to protocols and guidelines for transportation and storage of election materials, such as ballot boxes and ballot papers.
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