Chhattisgarh Assembly polls 2023: In the upcoming Chhattisgarh elections scheduled later this year, 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, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar said on Saturday. These voters will also be availed pick and drop facility at the polling stations.
There are more than 2 lakh voters above the age of 80 in the state, Kumar said. The state 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.
“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.
An ECI team headed by CEC 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 in Raipur.
He said an intensive drive will be carried out to enrol as voters those who had been left out in five particularly vulnerable tribal groups (PVTGs) during the ongoing special summary revision (SSR)-2. The five PVTGs are: 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.
Special summary revision of electoral rolls has been extended up to September 11, Kumar said.
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, the CEC said.
Kumar said that a total of 24,109 polling booths are there in the state, of which 900 ‘sangwari’ ones will be managed by women staff and security personnel, and 90 booths will be managed by PwDs. These booths will have facilities like toilet, wheelchair, among other facilities.
Chhattisgarh has 90 Assembly constituencies and the state goes to polls later this year.