No postal ballot for those over 65 in Bihar elections

NEW DELHI: The Election Commission on Thursday said it has decided not to notify the law ministry’s amendment to the Representation of People Act, 1951, that would have allowed those over the age of 65 to use postal ballots in the upcoming Bihar assembly elections and by-elections due in the near future, in a move welcomed by political parties.

The law ministry, on the recommendation of the Commission, had decided to allow people over 65 to vote remotely in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. The provision was supposed to be an enabling one.

Five key opposition parties wrote to Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora to reconsider the move which some of them said would unduly benefit the ruling Janata Dal (United), or Jdu-bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-LOK Janshakti Party (LJP) alliance in Bihar.

The Bihar assembly lapses in November this year and Arora had told Hindustan Times in an interview on June 27 that as of now, the elections will be held when they are due. It will be the first assembly election since the pandemic began. According to EC officials, there are also nearly 50 by-elections that the Commission is gearing up to conduct.

The Commission has cited “the field situation and logistics of operationalization” as the rationale behind its decision to not allow postal ballots.

“Before every election, we have our field officers evaluate the practical situation on the ground,” a poll body official said on condition of anonymity. “Their assessment suggests that it may not be feasible to have postal ballots.”

The EC official added that the Commission had listened to and evaluated the representations made by the political parties, but that wasn’t the reason behind the decision.

“The decision, though, has not been taken on the grounds that they made,” the official said.

Among the dissenting political parties were Congress, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Trinamool Congress (TMC), Communist Party of India (Cpi)and Communist Party of India (Marxist), or CPI (M).

CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury was among the first to raise concerns about postal ballots favouring the ruling party. This was followed by a representation by the Congress that said that the step would violate the secrecy of the vote.

TMC, CPI and RJD also wrote to the Commission stating that no political parties had been consulted before the decision was taken. The Commission, in a detailed reply to Yechury mentioned that Bihar’s chief electoral officer had held consultations.

Bihar deputy chief minister Sushil Modi welcomed the EC’S decision.

“Postal ballots could have been misused by parties like the RJD and Congress,” Modi told Hindustan Times.

According to Modi, nearly 10% of Bihar’s population is above 65. There are over 70 million voters.