Gurugram: Soon after the announcement of assembly elections in Haryana, scheduled for October, the district election department of Gurugram has started preparing for the democratic exercise, an official aware of the matter said.

Gurugram district commissioner and election officer, Nishant Kumar Yadav on Saturday said, the tasks related to polling stations, counting centres, Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and voter lists are being swiftly executed.

“The district has a total of 1,504 polling booths across four assembly constituencies, 259 in Pataudi, 518 in Badshahpur, 435 in Gurugram, and 292 in Sohna. For the first time, polling stations have also been set up in high-rise societies to facilitate voting among the urban population. All these booths will use EVMs for the voting process, with the election scheduled for October 1, this year,” he said.

Following the DC’s instructions, technically proficient engineers have completed the checking of EVMs for all 1,504 polling stations. A total of 3,029 ballot units were inspected, out of which 3,008 were found to be in working condition, while 21 were rejected due to technical issues. Similarly, 1,894 control units were checked, with 1,880 deemed operational and 14 rejected. Additionally, 2,091 VVPAT machines were tested, of which 2,030 passed and 61 were rejected, officials said.

The DC said that the number of functional ballot units, control units, and VVPATs is sufficient for the upcoming polls. These machines are now securely stored under police guard in the EVM storage facility, which is also monitored by CCTV cameras.

“Every step of the election process will be carried out in accordance with the guidelines of the Election Commission of India (ECI), ensuring transparency and fairness throughout the assembly elections,” said Yadav.