The Aryavarth Express
Agency(Rajasthan): In a significant move towards enhancing electoral participation, Rajasthan has seen over 58,000 individuals elect the home voting option for the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections, according to a state official’s announcement. Praveen Gupta, the Chief Electoral Officer, disclosed that for the election’s initial phase, a total of 35,542 voters, encompassing 26,371 elderly individuals and 9,171 with disabilities, have enlisted for this option. The registration for the first election phase concludes today, with the intention of finalizing the list of home voters and sharing it with recognized political entities and their candidates by the start of April.
As per Gupta, officers at the booth level are diligently working to register eligible voters for home voting across all 25 parliamentary areas in the state. Following the official declaration of candidates for these areas, the electoral process will be executed directly at the voters’ residences. Gupta highlighted, “To date, the count of eligible voters who have chosen to cast their votes from the comfort of their homes stands at 58,000, including 43,638 senior citizens and 14,385 individuals with disabilities.”
Special teams will be organized to carry out the home voting procedure, with their training expected to be complete by April 4th. These teams will visit the homes of registered voters alongside representatives from political parties and candidates to facilitate the voting via postal ballots. This method will be employed from April 5th to 14th for the initial phase and from April 14th to 21st for the subsequent phase, for which around 22,500 voters have already registered.
Reflecting on the success of home voting in last year’s state assembly elections, where 99% of the registered individuals voted, Gupta reiterated the system’s efficacy. This voting facility is extended to senior citizens aged 85 and above and to individuals with disabilities of over 40%. The upcoming General Elections in Rajasthan are scheduled in two phases on April 19th and 26th, with the first phase covering 12 constituencies and the second phase the remaining 13. Additionally, a bypoll for the Bagidora assembly seat, now vacant after a switch in party allegiance by Congress MLA Mahendrajeet Singh Malviya to the BJP, will coincide with the second phase. Malviya is the BJP’s nominee for the Banswara Lok Sabha seat, while the Congress has yet to announce its candidate.