As Mumbai police officers and government personnel will be on the election duty on the D-day, it will be not possible for them to vote. Therefore, the Election Commission (EC) provided the facility of postal voting for the police to enable them to cast their votes.
According to Indian Express, the seven such facilitation were set up in Dharavi, Sion-Koliwada, Sewri, Byculla, Mumbadevi, Malabar Hill and Colaba. Until November 17, a total of 6,567 police officers and staff from 10 constituencies in Mumbai cast their postal votes, Midday reports stated.
The highest number of votes were cast in the Colaba constituency, where 1,879 police personnel voted. Following that, in the Wadala constituency, 1,407 police officers exercised their voting rights through postal ballots, said a police officer.
Byculla, Malabar Hill, Mumbadevi, Colaba, and Mahim constituencies had a deadline for postal voting for police officers on duty until Saturday, November 16.
The postal voting facility was made available in Dharavi constituency only on November 14, while in Sewri, Wadala, and Worli constituencies, postal voting continued until November 17.
State Assembly elections will be held on November 20 and the counting of votes will take place on November 23.
Constituency-wise data of police officers and staff casting their postal votes:
Malabar Hill - 1,242
Dharavi – 274
Sion Koliwada - 324
Worli - 42
Byculla – 764
Mumbadevi – 517
Sewri (Shivdi) - 118
Meanwhile, in a shocking incident that came to light during the voting, a Mumbai police constable was booked for allegedly violating election confidentiality rules by sharing photographs of his postal ballot paper.
The police constable, identified as Ganesh Ashok Shinde, a member of the Local Arms Unit of the Mumbai Police, recently voted for the Ahsti Assembly Constituency in Beed through the postal voting system at the Malabar Hill facilitation centre.
An officer said the breach of election confidentiality rules occurred between 9 am on November 14 and 5 pm on November 15.
When EC officials contacted Shinde over the phone, the constable initially denied taking the photo of the ballot. However, he later admitted to taking a picture and sharing it with his relatives in his hometown via WhatsApp.
Later, the matter was reported to the Gamdevi Police Station,
where a case was registered under Section 223 (Disobedience to Order
Promulgated by Public Servant) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and
Section 128 (Maintenance of Secrecy of Voting) of the Representation of
the People Act, 1951.
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