SHIMLA: The Chief Election Officer (CEO) of Himachal Pradesh has rejected a request by Congress candidate Anand Sharma from Kangra Assembly constituency to cast his vote through postal ballot from Dharamsala as he is registered as a voter in Shimla.
Elections for all four Lok Sabha seats in the hill state will be held on June 1.
The former Union Minister and veteran Congress member, who had written to the Chief Executive Officer requesting him to allow postal voting from Dharamashala in Kangra, on Monday termed the election authorities’ decision as “unfair and unconstitutional”.
The CEO refused permission saying that as per rules only special voters, engaged voters, voters on election duty, electors under preventive detention and those who have been given notice under Section 60C of the Commissioner for Elections Rules, 1961 are entitled to vote by post and Mr Sharma did not fall under any of these categories.
Section 60C covers employees of the health, police, fire brigade, prisons, excise, media personnel and other similar services who are on duty on the polling day and therefore unable to exercise their right to vote.
Talk to PTI “It is unfortunate that on the one hand the Election Commission is running a campaign to encourage voters to vote and on the other hand it is denying senior citizens the right to exercise their franchise because they are candidates of a political party,” Sharma said on Monday. Terming the decision unfair and unconstitutional, he said senior citizens should not only be given the right to vote but also the right to run for office.
“Right now, I am in the midst of campaigning and will definitely challenge the Supreme Court’s ruling,” he added.
Published May 27, 2024 16:46 IST
