JAMMU: The Election Commission of India (ECI) has announced Sheetal Devi, a distinguished Para-archer, and Arjuna Awardee, as its National Icon in the Persons with Disabilities (PwD) category for the General Elections. Her name was announced at an exhibition cricket match between the Indian Deaf Cricket Association (IDCA) and the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) held on Saturday in Delhi. Sheetal won three medals in last year’s Para Asian Games, which included a women’s team silver, a mixed team gold, and gold in the women’s singles compound open event. ECI along with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) organised the match which was played at Karnail Singh Stadium in New Delhi on Saturday. The event was graced by Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar and Election Commissioners Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu who felicitated the winning team. Renowned former Indian Cricketer, Nikhil Chopra, was also invited as the special guest alongside officials from DDCA and IDCA. This cricket match exemplified the commitment made by CEC Rajiv Kumar to the Indian Deaf Cricket team when he felicitated them for bringing laurels to the nation by winning the T20 Champions Trophy held in UAE, on the eve of the International Day of PwDs in 2022. “ECI will explore the possibility of sponsoring a match of the Indian Deaf Cricket Association team with mainstream cricket teams,” he had said as per an ECI release. Both teams put up a spirited performance to entertain and thrill the crowd of 2500 spectators including Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) of various categories and young voters, gathered under a bright blue sky to enjoy the match. The DDCA team won by 69 runs (Scorecard- DDCA 190/5; IDCA – 121/8) in a match where the message of inclusivity and togetherness was the ultimate victor. The message of ‘Nothing like voting, I vote for sure’ rang loud and true throughout the event. The match concluded with a captivating performance by the ‘Shining Star Music Band’- a band featuring the visually impaired. Over the course of the event, the Commission launched a dedicated Voter’s Guide for PwDs and Senior Citizen Electors. The comprehensive booklet outlines essential provisions available to PwDs and senior citizens, including infrastructural, informative, and procedural details at polling stations, as well as the applicability and procedure for Postal Ballots, facilitating a smooth and pleasurable voting experience. The measures follow key initiatives undertaken by the Commission towards PwDs. These include inter alia, optional home voting facility for PwDs with benchmarked disabilities, mapping of Persons with Disabilities polling station-wise, provision of free transportation on poll day, disability-specific facilitations at all polling stations, accessibility checklist at polling stations, appointment of State and District PwD Icons, awareness campaigns, the Saksham ECI App, Braille enabled EPICs and EVMs. The Election Commission of India remains confident that such initiatives will significantly enhance voter participation, particularly among youth and persons with disabilities, in the upcoming general elections. Through a meticulously designed framework of guidelines and inclusive measures, the Commission is committed to ensuring a truly representative and robust democracy. The event was drawn to a close by a stirring rendition of the national anthem in sign language by students from the Indian Sign Language Research and Training Centre (ISLRTC). The general election for 543 Lok Sabha seats will be held in seven phases from April 19, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar announced on Saturday. The counting will be held on June 4. According to the EC, there are 85 lakh registered voters who are aged above 85 years while the number of PwD voters is 88.4 lakh. For the first time in Lok Sabha elections, people above 85 years of age and those with more than 40 per cent disability will be able to cast their votes from home.
