Election by election, the Election Commission of India is becoming more and more strict. This was felt this election too. Some points that were observed on polling day in Gujarat are narrated here.

Thanks to strictness of the Election Commission, there were no free cars for voters to reach polling stations.

Children were not allowed inside the voting room. This is because children are not voters. Women accompanied by their children felt odd leaving them outside the polling room.

Those who had ink sign on finger were not allowed to reenter the polling station. One voter who had already voted but went to help her old age aunt in polling station was sent back outside the polling centre by the police.

Election staff did not allow voting to them who had not brought Election identity card. Election staff didn’t care to explain about the other optional photo identity cards allowed for voting. There was an advertisement by the Election commission in this regard two days before polling but the advertisement was published on some inside page in a corner.

This was the first election in which, the election staff had voters list with photographs. But the photographs were so clumsy, small and black and white that they served little purpose.

When Gandhinagar Lok Sabha seat candidate Suresh Patel visited Ahmedabad’s Jodhpur polling booth, polling officer present there promptly gave him visitor form to fill out. Suresh Patel was hesitant to fill such form but polling officer did not let him go without filling visitors form.

TV cameramen and photographers were not allowed to go with Narendra Modi or LK Advani inside the polling room this election for the first time. All lens men and TV crews who wanted to capture live shot of Advani, Modi casting their votes were disappointed. They were for the first time, stopped outside the polling centre. OB vans of news channels had to halt outside the 100 metre limit from polling centre. Advani had to walk this distance to talk with media persons.