BENGALURU: Assembly elections officially started in Karnataka on Saturday, 11 days ahead of polling day (May 10), with vote from home (VFH) for senior citizens aged above 80 and people with disabilities (PwD). Along with this, postal ballots for outstation voters also began.
Introduced for the first time in the country, 33,036 senior citizens and people with disabilities have opted to vote from home. Officials at the office of the Chief Electoral Officer said the tabulation of outstation voters is on. Polling officers and their teams hit the ground at 9 am.
Each team comprises a presiding officer, one assistant, one micro observer, one police officer, one videographer, and agents of political parties and candidates. After a week-long field survey and formation of routes, each team has been given a target of visiting at least 20 houses a day.
‘Process over in 15 mins, video-recorded’
“It was a unique and different exercise. We were actually carrying a mini-polling booth to people’s homes. Voters were given Declaration Form 13A, B and C. They were all enthusiastic about the exercise. We will give voters a second chance if they are not present when the teams visit their houses to collect their votes,” said an election official. The EC has appointed 2,542 teams across the state for the vote from home process to be held till May 6. However, on the first day, 1,627 teams covered 1,627 routes.
12.15 lakh elderly in state
“In Karnataka, there are 12.15 lakh senior citizens and 5.71 lakh people with disabilities eligible to vote. Of them, 80,280 senior citizens and 19,279 people with disabilities have opted for VHF,” the official said. In Bengaluru, Bangalore Apartments Federation (BAF) president Nagaraj Rao (84), who opted for VFH, told The New Sunday Express, “Officials contacted him a day before polling and informed him about the expected time of their visit.
The postal ballot was given along with a list of names of candidates. After I voted, it was sealed twice in two covers and dropped in the sealed ballot box. The entire process was efficiently done.” The VFH voters said the process was completed in 15 minutes. The process was also video recorded. Sita A Raman (85) from Koramangala said, “I appreciate the efforts of election officials and the whole process. Otherwise, I would need my family members’ support to accompany me to the polling booth as I cannot go alone.”