Assistant Sub-Inspector Ram Prasad (name changed), a 57-year-old policeman posted in North District, recalled that in his 36 years of service in Delhi Police, he has been able to vote only twice. A resident of Shahdara, he has been on poll duty on almost all poll dates.
With Delhi set to vote again on May 12, The Hindu spoke to several police officers posted in different districts and most of them claimed that they haven’t been able to vote — some because of being on duty, some because they were not granted leave to cast vote (in case of non-Delhi voters) and some being unaware of the postal ballot system — among other reasons.
Beyond duty hours
A 39-year-old sub-inspector, a resident of Wazirabad and posted in East District, said that during the 2017 municipal corporation elections, he couldn’t vote because he was on duty. Talking on condition of anonymity he said that while the protocol says that officers work in shifts of 8-12 hours, their duty, sometimes, continues for 24 hours. “For instance, the polling day is May 12, but I will be working from the night of May 11 till the night of May 12. There’s no way I can go to my constituency to cast my vote and come back,” he claimed.
A head constable (51) posted in South District, who belongs to Haryana, said that he got his voting address changed to Delhi five years ago. He recalls that when he was a Haryana voter, he was not sanctioned a leave in the last parliamentary elections, even though the dates were different. “I remember I was posted in the security unit a few years ago and was able to go to Haryana for a few hours, cast my vote and come back. When you are posted in district, it is almost impossible,” he said.
Election Duty Certificate
However, there’s a facility for officers on poll duty laid down by the Election Commission. The officers can either use Election Duty Certificate (EDC) or choose to vote via postal ballot.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (nodal officers ballot) Mahesh Batra who has been supervising the process for over six years now, said that officers who are on poll duty can get an EDC after filling a form provided by the EC. It enables the officer to vote in any polling booth of his constituency, not necessarily the one where his name is listed, in case he is posted in his constituency for the duty. “We try our best to ensure that the officers are posted in their constituency but it’s not always possible,” he said.
Explaining the postal ballot procedure, Mr. Batra said that there’s another form provided to the officers. “The forms are filled by the officers and collected by the district’s nodal officer. The forms are then segregated based on constituencies and given to the Returning Officer concerned of the constituency where they are listed as voters,” Mr. Batra said.
In the last parliamentary elections, the ROs handed over the ballot papers to the Election Cell of Delhi Police which further passed it on to officers to cast their vote. “The process varies every election. They can choose to send the ballot paper by post also,” said an officer posted in the Election Cell of Delhi Police.
The officers can cast their vote and drop the paper in any ballot across the Capital about a week before the polling day, depending on the Election Commission notification.
Messaging service
“We use SMS also to facilitate the voter, to remind and guide them about the dates and timings of casting of vote through ballot paper at facilitation centres; this being the quickest way to inform individually,” Mr. Batra claimed.
This process, however, is restricted only to officers who are Delhi voters. Sources said that officers who are non-Delhi voters, till the last general election, had to send their forms to the Returning Officers concerned of their constituency themselves.
Some officers whom The Hindu spoke to claimed that they were aware of the postal ballot system but were clueless about how to use it; they also claimed to be unaware of the Election Duty Certificate.
“I know there is a system of postal ballot but I don’t know who gives the forms. Many lower-rank officers are not even aware of the process. I have no idea about the Election Duty Certificate,” said the 51-year-old head constable.
Other officers also said the same. They also denied receiving any messages in the previous elections.
The officers, however, admitted that if one wants to cast their vote “the person will take the pain to find out and do the needful; a smooth process only eases the process.”
Can’t force to vote
Mr. Batra said, “We facilitate a process laid down by the Election Commission but we can’t force anyone to vote.”
According to the data provided by the Delhi Police, the total force stands at 81,220 personnel out of which 79,378 are sub-inspectors and ranks below, including over 44,000 constables and 20,000 head constables, who form the majority of poll duty personnel on the ground.
