TIRUCHY: While the brouhaha over voting through postal ballots is yet to die down, the facility has not found many takers in the State. The Election Commission of India had earlier issued an order making the option available for people above 80 years of age, people with disabilities, etc.
With the deadline to register for postal ballots having lapsed on March 16, only a very few have applied for the facility. Statewide, of the 12.91 lakh voters over the age of 80 (as on March 2), only 1.59 lakh have applied for postal ballot facility -- which translates to a little over 12 per cent. There are around 6.2 crore voters registered in the State.
District-wise, the figures vary further. In Tiruchy, for instance, only about 9.5 percent, that is 6,728 people of the total eligible persons (70,480) opted for the facility. Further breaking up the numbers, only 5,389 of the total 51,475 voters in the 80-plus age category, and 1,339 of the total 19,005 voters in the disabled people category have given their consent for postal ballots.
While a few of them have cited lack of trust as the primary reason to have opted out of it, a few others claim they were never approached by booth level officers (BLO). According to the procedure, the BLOs were instructed to identify eligible people under their booth and distribute 12-D consent forms to them. If the voters gave their consent through the forms, the BLOs would make arrangements for the same. The postal voting is expected to commence in the last week of March.
A five-member team comprising of a poll officer, an assistant poll officer, a videographer, a micro observer (a Central government employee) and a police personnel would then visit their houses to collect their votes. The team would carry a portable enclosed facility for the voters to exercise their franchise secretly on a printed ballot paper. The entire process will be video-recorded.
“I would like to cast my vote at the polling booth directly as I doubt there might be some irregularities. They asked me for my consent and I rejected it,” said TS Rangan (90), a resident of Woraiyur. On the other hand, 88-year-old Elanjiyam from Edatheru in the city, said: “Nobody approached me asking for my consent for postal ballots..” Another voter, Rajalakshmi (80) from Vandikkaran street, said she was fortunate to have availed the facility and is happy about it.
Though EC states that the process is foolproof, functionaries of the Opposition parties, including the DMK, are wary about it. DMK chief MK Stalin has also spoke against the move. Meanwhile, Kamaraj, an activist working for the differently abled, said: “I wholeheartedly welcome the facility. It is helpful for many differently-abled people who are unable to go to polling booths.”