Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: The Election Commission has introduced the ‘Saksham’ mobile app to assist disabled persons and senior citizens (85 years and older) during the upcoming Lok Sabha general elections in exercising their franchise.*
There are nine assembly constituencies in the district, with Sillod, Phulambri, and Paithan constituencies linked to the Jalna Lok Sabha constituency. The Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Lok Sabha constituency includes Kannad, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Central, West and East, Gangapur, and Vaijapur assembly constituencies. There are a total of 26,532 disabled voters, including 16,060 men and 10,460 women, and 12 others in the district. The number of disabled voters in the constituencies linked to the Jalna Lok Sabha constituency is 9,532, and in the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Lok Sabha constituency, it is 17,000.
Similarly, the total number of senior citizen voters (above 85 years) in the district is 45,053, including 18,156 men and 26,897 women. For the Jalna Lok Sabha constituency, the senior voters in the district are 16,122, and in the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Lok Sabha constituency, the number is 28,931.
Eligible disabled and senior citizen voters can request the required facilities such as transportation, wheelchairs, and assistance to the polling booth by registering on the Saksham app.
Moreover, special arrangements will be available at the polling booths for disabled and senior citizens, including a separate queue and wheelchairs. The NCC, Scout and Guide, NSS students will help them as volunteers. Facilities like a medical kit, information boards, volunteers communicating in symbolic language with deaf and dumb voters, visual information, directives in Braille script, postal ballot for very old persons who cannot move, and others will be provided to the beneficiaries. Polling booth employees will receive training to communicate with such people.
