Former President Pratibha Patil.
Credit: PTI file photo
Pune: Former President Pratibha Patil, aged 90 and currently unwell, will exercise her voting right for the Pune Lok Sabha constituency during the general elections by availing the vote-from-home facility, her close aide said on Friday.
Patil has been unwell for the past one month and she finds it challenging to visit the polling station to cast her vote, he said.
Consequently, her office submitted an application to the district administration requesting permission for her to vote from home, he said.
"And we received a positive response from the district administration,"the aide said.
Polling for the Pune Lok Sabha seat will be held on May 13.
The former president resides in Kothrud area of Pune city. She was recently admitted to a hospital in Pune for the treatment of fever and chest infection.
Patil was the first woman to serve as the country's president. She held the top constitutional post from 2007 to 2012.
In a pioneering move, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has introduced the option of home voting for the elderly and Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. This is for the first time that such a facility has been provided in the parliamentary elections. Eligible voters include those above 85 years of age and PwDs with a 40 benchmark disability.