9,174 votes already cast in Telangana polls via vote from home facility

Hyderabad: Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Vikas Raj on Thursday said at least 9,174 postal ballots were received after voting was held for senior citizens and persons with disabilities (PwD) in the state through the 'vote from home' facility. The Election Commission (EC) has approved 29,267 applications of senior citizens and PwDs for voting from home.

The CEO stated no violation was reported in the collection of votes from senior citizens and persons with disabilities. For the first time, the EC has introduced the vote from home facility for senior citizens and PwDs.

"The EC approved a total of 17,105 applications from senior citizens and 6,226 people cast their votes till November 21. A total of 9,964 applications from PdWs were approved and we received postal ballots of 2,884. A total of 2,198 applications were approved for essential services and received 64 votes till November 21," Vikas Raj said.

Among the 9,174 postal ballots, 857 are from 15 assembly constituencies of Hyderabad district. “We have formed 46 teams, exclusively to facilitate the eligible electors to vote in their homes. We reached out to all the 857 electors on November 21 and by Wednesday, 724 electors had cast their vote from home,” said an official from Hyderabad district election authority (DEA).

He said that they have scheduled a second visit to the homes of the electors who were not present when the staff visited their homes.

In Hyderabad district, the election authorities received 966 applications (Form 12D) seeking postal ballots from senior citizens and specially abled i.e. the ones enrolled as PwD voters and 857 were approved.

According to the officials, the teams visited the electors house with a postal ballot and they were informed much in advance through SMS and through booth level officers (BLOs). “We have briefed the electors on the voting procedure and ensured the secrecy during the entire procedure,” said an official from the Hyderabad DEA.