Home voting begins in Thane Lok Sabha seat

THANE: The first of its kind ‘home-voting’ facility for voters aged 85-years plus and divyanjans kick started in the Thane Lok Sabha constituency on Thursday with nearly 75 of the 300 registered electors in the category exercising their right to vote from within the confines of their homes, officials informed.

Thane Lok Sabha seat has nearly 27,325 elderly residents in the age group of which 262 elderly registered while 38 divyang voters with over 40% locomotive disability from across the six constituencies also opted for the facility. The facility was started by the election commission in a bid to ensure all voters got an opportunity to exercise their right to vote.

“The home voting process was completed in Mira Bhayender, Belapur constituencies starting Thursday with around 75 of the total 85 voters covered. Around four elderly voters in these two assembly constituencies had died while one was hospitalized and another refused to vote at the last minutes. Four registered voters were unavailable for voting,” informed Sambhaji Adkune, Deputy collector and Dedicated Assistant Returning Officer, 25 Thane, Parliamentary constituency.

A press statement issued by the administration Thursday says Mira-Bhayender has (34 elderly/ 3 divyang) voters using this facility while Belapur has (39/9), Owala-Majiwada (46/16), Kopri-Panchpakhadi (22/4), Airoli (18/4) and Thane (103/2) opting for the facility.

Explaining the process, an election department official said, voters had to register by filling the 12D form either online or physically at the election offices till five days after the election notification was announced last week of April. After scrutiny, the department segregated voters based on their postal address and mapped a route to cover maximum voters between 9am to 5pm till May 19. Voters are alerted beforehand.

“Our teams of presiding officer, polling agent, micro observers, videographers, representatives of candidates and police visit the voter’s home and ascertain their identity. Once done, the room is evacuated except for the voter and our staff following which the polling booth, complete with its enclosure, is assembled and postal ballot provided to the voter which is then deposited at the strong room. The entire process is videographed,” informed an official, adding that the entire process doesn’t take more than 15 minutes.

Activists lauded the initiative and hoped the response increased in the following elections.

Stay updated with the latest news on Times of India. Don't miss daily games like Crossword, Sudoku, and Mini Crossword.