Societies across India are in the process of conducting or have already conducted Committee­ Elections. Committee Elections are a process that takes place every year or once in a few years depending on each society’s by-laws and the outcome of the election determines the new Management Committee in a society.

Since the pandemic, conducting safe elections has been the top priority of the gated communities. While some have gone digital and effectively used the ApnaComplex application, others have taken other precautionary measures before conducting the elections.

Speaking about upcoming Committee Elections in his apartment, in a reply to our email, Mohandas Ukkandath, President of Harmony Homes in Bengaluru said, “last year, we conducted the whole process online. This year we intend to do it in person with all covid precautions in place”.

Not just Harmony Homes, lieutenant Maniyan, President of Keerthi Gardenia was also singing a similar tune. He said, “we are going to conduct committee elections probably by the end of this year. We usually have a ballot box and residents will vote the traditional way. With the ongoing pandemic and fear of COVID still around, we are planning to conduct the elections online. In the past, we have conducted GBM (General Body Meetings), polls, and surveys online, and our residents are used to this. So we are expecting the elections to go smoothly as possible”.   

Keerthi Gardenia has been using ApnaComplex for conducting all the surveys and polls and Maniyan had nothing but praises for the application. He added “using the ApnaComplex application is extremely easy. Even people from non-technical backgrounds were able to create and host a poll on ApnaComplex easily. The application is so user-friendly that our estate manager who is from a civil background was able to use the ApnaComplex app comfortably. He used it extensively for conducting polls based on the COVID vaccination and requesting residents to get vaccinated. He found the application very easy to use”.

Keerthi Gardenia elects seven Committee Members and 15 executive committee members – three members representing each wing.

On the other hand, Sanjay Dutta, Director (electrical) of Suncity Apartments, Belandur, reveals that their society did not conduct a proper Committee election since the onset of  COVID and the present Committee was formed based on the willingness of owners who wanted to take committee responsibilities. Speaking about the election that was held before, Dutta said, “we had conducted elections once, and at that time, though we conducted physical election, we requested people who were eligible to vote register for casting their vote online. Conducting online and offline elections parallelly can cause confusion and residents can end up voting twice rigging the election process. To avoid this, using ApnaComplex, we had created a group exclusively for people who opted for online voting and created a separate polling list for them. We ensured that those residents cast their via online only. This enabled a smooth election process”.

However, Sanjay Dutta was quick to tell us how ApnaComplex is helping them conduct regular and AGM (Annual General Meetings) online. “We have conducted our third AGM online last week using ApnaComplex. With the help of the application, we have also conducted polls that played a crucial role in decision-making during these meetings ”, he said.   

These tête-à-tête with Management Committee members has given us an insight into how much software like ApnaComplex is helping societies conduct safer elections. Apart from offering additional safety during these hard times, it also provides practical solutions.

To know more about ApnaComplex and how you can digitise your society for both Management Committee’s and residents’ benefit, please visit https://bit.ly/371rCxL.