A message doing the rounds on social media and WhatsApp alerts voters that they are not allowed to carry their mobile phones into the polling booths while registering their votes.
“You are not supposed to carry your mobile phones into the polling booth on 18th. Election commission has banned phones inside the polling booths. They have neither made any provisions to deposit the phones outside the booths. Only option is to leave them at home or to your near one's 100 meters outside the booth or leave it in your car. Kindly spread this message so that people can take necessary measures. Please do spread this word to all your groups and ask them to do so,” reads the forwarded message.
This message is correct. In 2014, too, the Election Commission had issued a notification detailing the FAQs about the Model Code of Conduct for political parties and point number 93 talks about the use of mobile phones.
“No person is allowed to either carry or use mobile phones, cordless phones, wireless sets etc in 100-meter perimeter of the polling stations, described as the polling station neighbourhood, and within the polling booth. Only Observer or Micro Observer, the presiding officer and security personnel are allowed to carry mobile phones in silent mode,” the Election Commission notification said.
Karnataka Chief Electoral Officer Sanjiv Kumar recently confirmed that voters will have to leave their smartphones at home or deposit them with the police personnel before entering the polling booth.
The message seems to have started doing the rounds after a Twitter user posted a picture of an EVM inside a polling booth while the vote was being given to the BJP candidate contesting from the constituency. The picture went viral and triggered outrage over the lack of security arrangements and the violation of the code of conduct at the booth. The picture was later deleted.
Though this rule has been in place since 2008, it is not strictly enforced. A poll official admitted it was not implemented in previous elections due to various reasons such as manpower shortage and the fact that not many people in 2008 had internet-connected smart-phones with a camera.