SAMBA: Home voting for senior citizens and PWDs was conducted in four segments of the Jammu Lok Sabha constituency, which goes to the polls in the second phase on April 26, officials said on Sunday. The Election Commission, while announcing the Lok Sabha polls schedule, unveiled the ‘Vote From Home’ scheme, designed to facilitate the participation of citizens aged 85 and above and individuals with more than 40 per cent disabilities in the elections. Home voting for senior citizens and persons with disabilities (PWDs) in Ramgarh, Samba and Ramgarh assembly constituencies of Samba district was held to ensure an inclusive and participative election, the officials said. District Election Officer (Samba) Abhishek Sharma constituted 49 teams to facilitate home voting of 514 voters. Of the 514 electors, 498 (96.88 per cent) exercised their franchise by availing of the home voting facility on the first day, they said. They added that a polling team travelled 25 kilometres by bus and seven kilometres on foot to reach the Padal village to facilitate home voting for Puran Singh, an elderly elector. The polling teams also visited border villages adjacent to the international border, the officials said. In the Kalakote-Sunderbani assembly segment of Rajouri district, also part of the Jammu Lok Sabha seat, 191 people availed of the home voting facility and cast their ballots on the first day, they said. To ensure democratic participation for all eligible voters, postal ballot voting at Postal Voting Centres under the absentee voters on essential services category was also conducted in Samba’s three assembly segments. Of 136 employees from different departments who opted for postal ballots, 78 availed of the facility on April 20 and 21, the officials said. The postal ballot option is allowing employees to fulfil their civic duties without the constraints of physical presence at polling stations, they added.
