The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Sunday informed that more than 73,000 applications have been received so far through its Suvidha Portal since the announcement of the Lok Sabha elections.

 The Suvidha Portal is a technological solution developed by ECI to ensure a level playing-field upholding the democratic principles of free, fair and transparent elections. Demonstrating an impressive track record, the Suvidha Portal streamlined the process of obtaining and acting upon requests for permissions and facilities from political parties and candidates during the election period.

 “In a span of just 20 days, since the announcement of elections and the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) becoming operational, the Suvidha platform has received an impressive 73,379 permission requests from political parties and candidates, of which 44,626 requests (60 per cent) have been approved,” the Election Commission stated.

 The poll body further said that nearly 11,200 requests had been rejected, which is 15 per cent of the total requests received and 10,819 applications were cancelled as were invalid or duplicate.

 The poll panel said the rest of the applications are under process as per the details available till April 7.

 “Maximum requests were received from Tamil Nadu (23,239), followed by West Bengal (11,976) and Madhya Pradesh (10,636). Minimum requests were received from Chandigarh (17), Lakshadweep (18) and Manipur (20),” it said.

 Recognizing the importance of the election campaign period, where parties and candidates engage in activities to reach out to voters, the Suvidha Portal caters to a diverse range of permission requests transparently on the First in First Out principle.

 It caters to permissions for organising rallies, opening temporary party offices, door-to-door canvassing, video vans, helicopters, obtaining vehicle permits, and distributing pamphlets.

 The Suvidha Platform not only enhances the efficiency of the election process but also ensures transparency by providing real-time tracking of applications, status updates, timestamped submissions, and communication via SMS.

The elections to 543 Lok Sabha seats will be held in seven phases starting April 19. The counting of votes has been scheduled for June 4.