Early voting in Russian presidential election arranged in ten Indian cities - ambassador

NEW DELHI, March 12. /TASS/. Early voting in the Russian presidential election has been arranged in ten Indian cities, Russian Ambassador to India Nikolai Kudashev told reporters in New Delhi on Monday. "We certainly seek to meet the needs of our fellow citizens," he said. "In every consular district - that is, in the New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata districts - early voting has either concluded or is underway, so that Russian citizens who reside in India or are currently on business and tourist trips and will not have the possibility to vote on March 18 can fulfill their civic duty and cast their ballots in early voting," the ambassador added. According to Kudashev, on March 5, early field voting took place in New Delhi’s Tihar Jail, where one Russian citizen is being kept who is currently under investigation. On March 6, early voting was conducted in the city of Mayapur, West Bengal, where the International Society for Krishna Consciousness headquarters are located and several hundreds of Russian nationals live permanently. Early filed voting in the Mumbai consular district took place in the city of Nashik, Maharashtra, on March 11. As for the Chennai consular district, Russian nationals were provided with the opportunity to cast their ballots in early voting in the cities of Trivandrum and Visakhapatnam on March 10, while in the city of Hyderabad and on the premises of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant early voting was held on March 11. "We have arranged a large-scale early field voting in all the cities where a significant number of Russians live," the ambassador stressed. He added that in the New Delhi consular district, early field voting would also take place in the towns of Naggar and Kullu on March 15. On March 12, one Russian citizen, who is under investigation and is being kept in the Puzhal-2 Prison, will be provided with a chance to cast his ballot. In the city of Bangalore, early voting will be held on March 13 and in the town of Auroville on March 16. On March 18, when the election is scheduled to take place, polling stations will be open in New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata, as well as in Panaji, Goa, from 08:00 to 20:00 local time. "In order to be placed on electoral rolls, Russian citizens need to provide passports," the Russian ambassador to India said. Read more