Voters above 80 years of age, PwDs can vote from home through postal ballots in Chhattisgarh polls: CEC

Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar on Saturday said persons above 80 years of age and those with more than 40 per cent disability will be able to cast their votes from home through postal ballots in the upcoming Assembly elections in Chhattisgarh. There are more than 2 lakh voters above the age of 80 in the state, he said. “Voters above the age of 80 years will have the facility to cast their votes from home and the same facility will be available to the persons with disabilities (more than 40 per cent). For this, they have to fill form 12D within five days of notification of the election,” Kumar said at a press conference here. These voters will also have a pick-drop facility at the polling stations, he said. He said an intensive drive will be carried out to enroll as voters those who had been left out in five particularly vulnerable tribal groups (PVTGs) during the ongoing special summary revision (SSR)-2. Special summary revision of electoral rolls has been extended up to September 11, he added. Concerned administrative and law enforcement authorities have been directed to keep 105 check posts in the state operational with CCTV cameras installed there to prevent illegal movement of liquor, cash, freebies and drugs during polls, Kumar said. An ECI team headed by Kumar held meetings with political parties, law enforcement agencies, district collectors and superintendents of police (SPs) as well as the state’s chief secretary and director general of police and other officials during the last two days here. Kumar further informed Chhattisgarh has 1.97 crore voters, comprising 98.5 lakh women and 98.2 lakh men and 762 transgenders. Of the total voters, 4.43 lakh are first-timers, 2,948 are centenarians, 1.47 lakh are persons with disabilities (PwD), 2.02 lakh voters are in the 80-plus age segment and 19,854 are service votes, he said. “An intensive drive will be carried out to enrol leftover electors belonging from five PVTGs- Abhujmaria, Kamar, Pahadi Korwa, Birhor, and Baiga. These PVTGs have a population of 1.80 lakh and of them 1.15 lakh are over 18 years of age but only 1.13 lakh have been enrolled as voters,” he said. The total number of polling booths in the state is 24,109, of which 900 ‘sangwari’ ones will be managed by women staff and security personnel, and 90 booths will be managed by PwDs, he said. All polling booths will have facilities like toilets, wheelchairs, etc, he said.