Tanmay Chakrabarty, the general observer for Mandya and Nagamangala Assembly constituencies, directed the officials on election duty to ensure secrecy while facilitating the ‘vote from home’ facility for senior citizens above the age of 80 and physically challenged persons.
Addressing the election officials during a training programme on the postal ballot organised at Ambedkar Bhavan in Mandya on Monday, Chakrabarty said, “The polling from home will be held on May 3, 4 and 5 and the officials face problems, like lack of light in the compartments provided for voting, request for aides, etc.”
“The officials should not get carried away, but follow the instructions of the Election Commission (EC). The police will be there and they will support a hassle free-polling,” he said.
He said that in Mandya district, there are a total of 2,630 voters above the age of 80 years and 778 of them have enrolled for the postal ballot.
“Fifty-nine teams of officials have been constituted for the purpose, including two polling officers, one micro observer, one policeman and a videographer. The polling will be held from 9 am to 5 pm. After the polling, the videographers should hand over unedited videos of the process to the election officer,” Chakrabarty said.
He said those, who have enrolled, should cast their vote only when the officials approach them at their house. They cannot vote on May 10 along with other voters, he added.
Additional DC H L Nagaraju, officials S H Keerthana, Nongjay Mohamed Ali Akram Shah, M Babu, Nagaraju and Johnson were present.